Cat and mouse
by Smallhouse
Summary: Hermione has been left an orphan at the early age of 7. Now she has to adapt to a dark place called Wool's orphanage, as it becomes her new home. Life gets even more complicated, when she meets her next-door neighbor, Tom Riddle. What starts as fear and resentment, changes to something more, as they discover a single, life-changing similarity between them. AU. Dark and violent.
1. Chapter 1 - Newcomer

_**February, 1938**_

 **Wool's orphanage**

 **TR, 11**

The boy narrowed his eyes. _What a stupid little idiot._ Every time someone new was brought to the orphanage, all the kids excitedly clustered at windows, peaked curiously into the entrance corridor from their doors, and gathered and gossiped annoyingly. The wannabe leaders of the formed small gangs, on the other hand, made sure to have sucked up enough to _the Bitch_ , Mrs Cole, in order to be downstairs alongside the welcoming staff, selected as exemplary representatives of the precious orphanage. Tom could never hope to join those chosen ones, nor did he ever try to. However, he could see the advantage of being among the first kids the newcomers met when stepping into this grey, God-forsaken, prison. It is at the precise moment the rusty metal doors screeches back to closed, when all new kids would finally comprehend that they have been completely and irreversibly abandoned by whoever had pretended to care for them prior the orphanage. And exactly at this vulnerable window of time is when they let their guard down and let for everyone to see what they are made of. And the wannabes make sure to be there for that in order to collect the good little soldiers before someone else does. Surprisingly smart for such a bunch of cretins.

Tom kept looking at the newcomer with contempt. This one was a people pleaser. _Ugh._ He hated those the most. Brave little smile plastered on pale, scared face. Nodding and talking to everyone around, keeping the polite façade like somebody cares. Like somebody will ever care again. Will come and tell her what a good girl she was, when she bravely stepped into the orphanage. _Idiot._ They'll swallow her alive. He gave her a week at most before she becomes a fetch-it little slave to some of the gangs. Even now he could see Amy Benson measuring the new girl through narrowed eyes, planning what tasks to assign her with once she's recruited. _Three days tops._ Tom shook his head in disgust and stepped away from the window. There was no one worth it in here. He took the pensil back in his palm and concentrate again. _Come on. Just a small move._

 **HG, 7**

Hermione felt like crying. She couldn't even register what was happening around her. There was a young woman gently guiding her throughout the entrance corridor of a dark fortress, where no sunlight had ever seemed to enter. A number of detached-looking kids were gathered around her and watched her as if waiting for something to happen. Perhaps this was the only reason she was not crying. She hated being on a display. And she felt like this was not only a public demonstration, but also some test of sorts. In a way she was sure everybody around her was highly disappointed by her calmness. Like they bothered to come only for the expected show, and now that she was denying it to them – irritation was growing. Her mom had always laughed at how shy and insecure she was. _Have a little faith in people, darling. Most of them are just as scared as you are. Just give them a chance._ She bit her lower lip and swallowed hard. Her throat burnt suddenly. This was _not_ the time to think of her mother.

'I can do that, Mrs Cole!' The sudden voice startled Hermione and she focused back on the reality. A lankly girl with dark braids stood right in front of her. 'Come, the room is in my corridor! I'll show you around.'

Before Hermione could respond, the girl turned on her heals and stormed up the stairs. Hermione glanced around unsure and the woman with the gentle voice gave her an encouraging nod.

'Go on, honey, we will see you at dinner!'

Hermione fidgeted with the handle of her luggage for a moment.

'Umm..yes.' She muttered quietly. 'It… it was nice meeting you all. Thank you for greeting me.'

No one said a word. The remaining of the kids didn't even look at her anymore. As if whatever interest they had was gone. Mrs Cole turned and started talking to the gentle woman.

'Coming?' came the bossy demand of the lanky girl from upstairs.

Hermione nearly jumped.

'Yes-yes! Sorry, I…'

But the girl turned and walked off again, before Hermione could finish the apology. Embarrassed and with newly burning throat, she swooped her luggage and dragged it hurriedly up the stairs.

'Welcome to Wool's, dear!' the gentle lady had suddenly turned as if just remembering.

Unable to say a single word more without bursting into tears, Hermione swallowed painfully and mustered a smile before nodding. The kids took this as a cue to leave and dispersed in different directions. Some of them passed Hermione on the stairs and, she notice, didn't spare her a glance, even though most were much taller and bigger than her and could have easily helped her pull the large suitcase to the top. With flaming cheeks Hermione stopped trying to make eye contact with the people around her and resumed silently dragging the luggage to her new room.

When she finally reached the top, the lanky girl was chatting with someone else. As Hermione approached carefully, the girl gave her a quick annoyed look and snapped at her conversationalist.

'Go on now. I have to do _this_ first.'

 _I'm not a 'this',_ Hermione bit back. She had never had to deal with confrontations before and instinctively avoided them. The third person, a small girl around the age of Hermione, she presumed, nodded timidly and with a quick glance at her, almost ran down the corridor to the left.

'Come, I will introduce you to everyone in our corridor.' Lanky said and turned to the opposite corridor. 'By the wa… hey! Watch it, stupid!'

Hermione, wanting to receive some approval from the only person who had talked to her yet, hurried after the girl the moment she turned. However, she did not expect that the latter will not storm down the corridor at once, as she had done twice now, so they crushed.

'I'm sorry! I'm s-sorry!' Hermione stumbled over her words. She did not dare to say anything else after receiving particularly annoyed look from the older girl.

'God! You are slow, aren't you?' she exhaled exasperated and shook her braids disapprovingly. 'How old are you anyway?'

'I'm 7… will be 8 in September.' Hermione decided to stick with as few words as necessary, obviously unable to do anything right in the eyes of her new companion.

'Really? You're scrawny! You look 6 at most!' Lanky contemplated her for a moment. 'Ok, we'll figure out something for you. For now let's get it over with here.'

She turned again and went down the corridor opening doors without knocking. Hermione followed careful to keep at least few steps distance from the bossy girl. Lanky introduced her quickly to everyone and Hermione only managed to peak shortly into the rooms, before having to hurry to the next one. Neither of the kids seemed remotely interested in starting a conversation anyway and some of them looked down right frightened. She could understand that. As they reached the end of the corridor, Lanky turned to her again.

'Ok, this is your room. Don't make too much noise, because I'm responsible for this corridor and last thing I want to deal with are cry-babies, understand?'

Hermione just looked at her.

'Oh, and my name is Amy.' Lanky stretched hand. As old habits die hard, Hermione couldn't ignore it even though she had clearly found the first person in the world that she consciously disliked.

'Hermione.' She said automatically as they shook hands.

Amy rolled her eyes.

'I know that, stupid! Gee..'

The hands were dropped and neither could seem happier to have it so.

'My room is the first on your side of the corridor. Don't bother me unless it's something that will get us into trouble!'

Hermione couldn't envision any scenarios where she would willingly knock on Amy's door. So she just nodded. Amy turned and stormed off once again and Hermione was glad she didn't have to follow this time.

Sighing quietly, she turned also to enter her room, but stopped. There was a room across hers, which Amy did not barge in. The light was seeping from underneath the small slit between the door and the floor, and Hermione assumed that as the curtains were clearly pulled – someone must be living there.

 _Did Amy forget this one?_ She seemed awfully in a rush to get it over with, so it could be. Or maybe whoever lived there annoyed her as much as Hermione did. Hermione doubted it that Amy would ever willingly talk to her again, so it seemed plausible she'd ignore others like her. In a hope of meeting a companion, without the presence of the unfriendly girl (who she was sure scared most of the people around and for that alone maybe they would not be talking to Hermione), to share her misery with, Hermione stepped closer and carefully knocked on the door. Nothing happened. Not a sound. Counting to five, Hermione knocked once more, this time louder, just in case. Was there a sound? She pressed ear to the door. Suddenly it flung open and Hermione squeaked jumping backwards. A tall dark-haired boy stared down at her with such a look on his face, that Hermione instantly got paralyzed with fear. Neither of the kids, not even Amy, scared her in the real sense of the word. Intimidate and embarrass – yes. But this... this was something different.

'I-I…' she stammered. 'Next door neighbour..'

His lips went even thinner if possible.

'I'm H-Hermi…'

The door shut in her face.

Stunned, Hermione stood gaping at the thick old wood. The bed behind it screeched lowly, indicating that its owner has most probably gone back to it. Heart throbbing, unwilling to draw her neighbour out of his room anytime soon again, Hermione grabbed the handle of her massive suitcase with shaking hands and dragged it quickly towards her own new room.

The room was small and plain, but at this point she hadn't expected anything different. The white curtain was a pleasant surprise, so were the clean-looking pillow and blanket. Suddenly exhausted, she sat gingerly on edge of her bed and stared blankly at wall. _What now?_ The day had been horrible. And this was something, considering everything that has happened in the past few weeks. Finally isolated from unconcerned curiosity, she allowed herself to sink in self-pity. This was her new life. Her new _home_. There was no mom or dad anymore. No one who actually cared about her and how she felt. Even worse, how she felt was probably going to be used against her in this place. _And it was so unfair!_ She never did anything to anyone here. Anywhere actually. She'd always been polite and helpful when possible, and her parents shone with pride every time she did things right. Here they are _mean_. And bullies. Or bullied. It hadn't escaped her how frightened everyone looked _. Except for that bossy girl Amy_. She probably frightened half of them. The other half was probably taken care of by her new neighbour, she thought grimly. In fact, now that she comes to think of it, it would appear that even Amy was afraid of him and this is why she wouldn't even try to introduce him to her. _She could have warned me!_ Hermione pressed palms to her eyes and tried to keep the tears in. _Why didn't she warn her?_ It was not a big deal. Just a small 'and across you lives an evil git that you should never, ever cross' was more than enough. But no, Amy couldn't be bothered less. And why should she? She clearly demonstrated her dislike. Tears were now streaming in hot trails down her cheeks and a small wail escapes her lips. It sounded so sad and pathetic, that she drowned in a whole new wave of self-pity, sliding from the bed and burying her face in her knees. She wrapped hands around herself and began weeping softly.

Out of the blue, a strong hand squeezed her wrist and pulled hard, making her scream. The sounds died in her throat as she lifted her wet face and stared in utter horror at the dark-haired boy from next door. He was crouching in front of her with a maddened expression. His eyes were not black like she thought earlier. They were grey. Really dark, thunder grey. And scary. She never wanted to have to look at them again

Pain seared through her wrist and she gasped, as the boy's fingers tighten further.

' _Don't. Cry_.' he hissed.

Fear shot through her and together with it tears rolled down her cheeks even faster.

He pulled her hard and she yelped again.

' _I said. Don't. Cry._ ' With face too close to hers, he almost snarled. 'Don't make me stop you!'

Blood drained from her face. She actually felt it. Without further words, she cut it off. Tears gone, sadness too. The only thing left was endless, terrifying horror.

He stared at her for few moments and she started back, unable to move, unsure of what will anger him more. Narrowing his eyes, he let go of her hand.

'Good girl.' His voice held no warmth or approval.

Then he was gone, leaving her in silence.

Few minutes later, Hermione clumsily stood up, walked to the door with shaking legs and closed it as quietly as possible. Next she put her suitcase in front of it, climbed the bed and scooted in the furthest corner. Hands wrapped around her knees, she just sat and stared at the door until dinner time came.


	2. Chapter 2 - Accident

_**April, 1938**_

 **Wool's orphanage**

 **HG, 7**

Days came and went, and time slowly rolled by as Hermione was adjusting to the routine of her new life. Amy had proven to be a real pain, as she kept bossing and intimidating Hermione at any opportunity possible. Other kids seemed to have barely noticed the new addition to their small community, and everyone went on with their various amounts of duties. Some kids where expected to help in the kitchen, others with cleaning, yet others spent most of their time in the grim yard, preparing it for spring. Hermione couldn't see what was there to prepare, as there wasn't a single tree or bush, only concrete. However, she quickly learnt to keep her opinions to herself. The quieter and the less noticeable you were, the better your odds of passing the day without any bullying. Still there were those, who hardly ever did any work, like Amy and many of the faces she met on her first day at the entrance of the orphanage. Hermione suspected that these were the favourites of Mrs Cole and as such were privileged with managing the rest of the kids. Ergo, they did nothing but ordering around and bullying. Rule number one of Wool's was not to be spotted idle by any of Cole's chosen ones, as it meant that not only you'd be given extra duties, but you would likely have to endure public sneering and reproach for not helping the rest in housekeeping.

The only exception to everything was the dark-haired neighbour of Hermione, Tom. No, he did not introduce himself, nor did he ever talk to her or anyone for that matter. But kids were whispering, and eventually Hermione learnt a few things. Unlike rest of the kids, Tom was actually born in the orphanage, making it pretty much the only home he'd even known. And he was truly horrid to everybody, not just her. Even Mrs Cole and her assistant, Martha, were unwilling to engage him in any sort of confrontation. Feeling particularly vulnerable by his proximity in their room arrangement, Hermione tried to collect as many half-stories and ever changing gossips as possible. They all carried something sinister about them, though no one had named anything specific that Tom had actually done to them. However, everyone agreed on one thing – there were inexplicable things happening around him, and anyone who had ever crossed him eventually had paid for it one way or another.

'I wouldn't if I were you.' A voice snapped her out of her day-dreaming.

Hermione jumped a little and resumed dusting the shelves with an even face.

'Hey, Elsie!' she gave a non-committal response out of habit. One should never admit to slaking here, even when caught.

'Don't ' _hey'_ me, I'm serious! You should be careful. What if he _sees_ you!' the girl next to her pressed, joining in dusting a particularly dirty shelf.

Hermione held her eyes on the furniture.

'He who..?'

'Oh, stow it, Hermione! I saw you staring!' her new companion raised a bit her voice and stomped with foot.

'Shhhh! _Okay_! I stared.' Hermione hissed. 'So what?'

With the corner of her eye she saw Elsie chewing her lip.

'Why were you staring?'

Hermione glanced quickly to make sure no one had noticed their conversation break and without turning stepped closer to the girl next to her.

'I was just curious, you know…'

'About what?' Elsie's voice came somewhat hollow.

Hermione frowned slightly and looked at her then. Slightly taller than her, Elsie had sunny short locks framing her round face, unlike Hermione's own frizzy brown hair. Even though the girls looked nothing alike, they instantly felt a connection the moment they met. Elsie was the girl Hermione saw Amy talking to, or rather – ordering to, on her first day. Later that week Elsie had finally mustered some courage to approach her, avoiding others spotting them, and after few words their friendship began. Perhaps, they were not alike in many ways and perhaps in other circumstances they wouldn't have been friends, but in this grim and isolated place anyone with a quick smile and gentle heart was considered family by Hermione. Same went for Elsie. And so they stuck together.

'What's the matter Elsie?' Hermione whispered carefully. 'Why are you so concerned with me watching him?'

'I'm _not_!' Elsie shook her short hair and stomped her leg again.

' _Elsie_!' Hermione hissed and ducked her head, hoping they are not attracting attention. 'What's going on?'

Her friend was quiet for awhile and blush crept to her cheeks and neck.

'I'm just worried, ok? You know what will happen if he catches you staring…'

'Actually, I don't.'

It was Elsie's turn to stare.

'Do you _really_ want to know?'

Hermione swallowed. Tom was definitely scary and she never wanted to encounter him again. However, there were some things she's heard about him that she just couldn't leave to rest. All these inexplicable things that happen around him…

' _Well_?' Elsie pressed, face reddening even further.

'I… I just was thinking... that it's not _fair_!' Hermione dodged. 'How come he doesn't get to do anything? We are cleaning this place all day long and all he has done is sit in the couch and read! I mean, where does he even get the books from anyway?'

Elsie glanced once at the dark-haired boy sitting in the middle of the dining room and then resumed rubbing the now shiny book shelf quietly. After some thinking, she whispered urgently:

'Hermione, leave it, please! If you get in trouble I'm not gonna come to help you…'

'Gee, thanks…'

' _No_! I won't and you should know it! You also wouldn't in my place! Y-you wanna know how he got that book?'

Hermione looked at the rounded eyes of her friend.

'U-um…? Y-yes?'

Elsie widened her eyes even further and leaned forward, gesturing for Hermione to approach closer. Then she shifted right next to Hermione's ear and murmured softly:

'They say… they say that every time he kills a person he takes a book from them!'

Hermione rolled her eyes.

'They say he traps their soul inside it, and every time he opens the book, words of despair and agony appear, written in blood. And he reads them for amusement.'

Hermione rolled her eyes even more.

'He is never amused.'

They both chuckled and Hermione glanced once more at Tom. Her laughter froze and what felt like an arctic cold paralyzed her lungs. He was looking straight at her, book down, eyes squinted. Next to her Elsie squeaked and melted on the floor, pretending to wash her cloth in the water bucket.

Hermione's heart stopped at the sound of a shut book. Everything slowed as she watched Tom stand, still glaring at her, and walk in their direction. Feeling suddenly nauseous, Hermione looked down at the shelf and renewed rubbing a particularly clean by now spot. He was nearing, as his footsteps echoed louder and louder. Suddenly something cracked loudly between her hands and before she knew it, Elsie was screaming hysterically down the corridor, calling for Mrs Cole. Hermione herself had somehow landed on the floor flat on her butt, staring confused around. Tom on the other hand had frozen utterly still, with the least expected expression she had ever imagined. There was shock and… _fear_ on it, while he was staring at _her_! How could that be?

Someone screamed again and Martha ran towards her, embracing her with a small couch blanket. Hermione tried to look around her and back at Tom, but Martha just held her tight in the blanket and yelled:

'Go back to your room, Tom! Go back _now_!'

There were more steps and gasps around and the breathless voice of Mrs Cole demanded:

'What is _happening_ here? Martha!'

'I-it was him, Mrs Cole, it was _him_!' Martha sounded almost tearful. 'He d-did it again…'

'I did nothing!' Tom yelled and Hermione flinched. He was angry.

'He did nothing!' she insisted, trying to free herself from the blanket. 'I promise, Martha! He did no…'

'Hush, child!' Martha's embrace tightened even further. 'It's alright now!'

While Hermione struggled with no result against her, Mrs Cole said in a strict voice:

'Tom Riddle, you go back to your room right _now_!'

There was a small pause during which Hermione finally managed to peak out of the blanket. Tom was standing few steps away from her looking pale and angry. Mrs Cole was staring at him with bulged eyes, pointing at the door with a trembling finger. Martha snuffled lowly and for a moment Tom's eyes snapped in their direction. Hermione held her breath as their eyes met briefly. His were promising payback. She was opened her mouth to tell him she didn't do anything, but before she could, he tore sight from hers and darted out of the room angrily. After few moments a door slammed loudly in the distance.

 _ **July, 1938**_

 **Wool's orphanage**

 **TR, 11**

Tom sat on his bed and stared through the window. He was feeling extra annoyed today, considering all kids had gone to the sea side for a day. Normally, he couldn't be happier should everyone around him disappear into thin air, but today was different. He was still being punished for the whole Granger girl incident and so they left him behind. He bore his teeth in a silent snarl. _The girl._ It's been few months since he saw her do magic and the initial shock had dissolved into disbelief and contempt. There was no way this stupid, _ordinary_ girl was anything like him. He watched her all the time now and had seen nothing even remotely resembling magic around her again. He wouldn't approach her though, as Martha and Mrs Cole were still on edge around him. Every time he and Granger were in the same room, both women immediately flanked one or the other under all kinds of stupid excuses. Plus, that stupid brat made big, scared eyes anytime he even looked at her and he was in no mood to be blamed again for something he hasn't done... _yet_. So he stayed away and watched her from distance, making sure she notices. It was almost fun to terrorize her like that. But not quite enough, as what he saw was utterly boring and plain. All she did was be a good little soldier who never got into any trouble. Oh, and read anything she could get her hands on. Even the safety and evacuation instructions manual, which she had undug from who-knows-where. There was nothing _special_ around _her._ It has always been _him_ who was special, and now that enough time had passed he was beginning to think that maybe The Bitch and fat Martha were right, and it really _was_ him who set the girl on fire. He clenched his teeth. _He certainly wouldn't mind to_.

 **HG, 7**

Hermione stretched slowly and gazed lazily around. It was warm summer afternoon and most of the kids were playing or simply sunbathing in the courtyard. Even Amy and the rest of the bullies had forgotten their passion for terrorizing and were scattered all over the benches and little grass patches of the yard. Hermione searched the crowd instinctively for Tom, as it had become her habit to always make sure he was far enough from her, preferably with few people between them. He was nowhere to be seen, which did not surprise her. Somehow she couldn't picture him enjoying the sun even one bit. She also knew that he was still sulking for not being able to join the sea side trip. After they'd gotten back, he'd snapped at several kids for small things and was in such a horrible mood, that soon every time he entered somewhere – the area around him cleared out of people in no time. It seemed to both please and irritate him and somehow he always stared at Hermione when that happened. _As if it was her fault!_ She wanted to defend herself from this unjust accusation and tell him she didn't do anything wrong. She also wanted to talk to him about the incident, but had no idea how to even begin the conversation. He was clearly mad at her and on some level she couldn't blame him. He was accused of something he most probably did not do, and Hermione could understand now how frustrating this could be.

Still, part of her was not entirely sure what exactly happened back then. She had had incidents like that in the past, and would it be anybody else with her – Hermione would know for certain that it was her, who caused the wash cloth to catch on fire. However, all the whispers of strange incidents surrounding Tom made her wonder if it wasn't indeed him who did it. The look on his face, however, told her otherwise. He was just as shocked as her parents were the first time she did something like that. Their eye had met for a brief moment though, and she saw something more than just shock in them. They held also a grain of knowledge, like he knew exactly what she did, accompanied with disbelief and the subsequent shock. And anger. Lots of it. She could feel it every time he stared at her recently, which he did a lot. She really wanted to solve this animosity between them, as it kept her on edge continuously. But she knew better than try to approach him. However, the weather was warm and coaxed by the momentary happy place she found herself in, she began imagining what it would be like if she managed to befriend her scary neighbour.

After a long dose of blissful daydreaming, Hermione decided to go back to her room. Her skin and hair were overheating and she could feel her face reddened by the sun. Plus, she had recently miraculously managed to get her hands on one of her favourite books, _The Little Prince_ , and was now itching to read it again. With a light step and smile in her heart she skipped through the yard.

The chill and moist of the building hit her as soon as she stepped in and with it her sunny mood disappeared. The hallway was void of any noise and the old wooden floor screeched with each step. Hermione glanced around nervously and hurried towards her room and quiet as possible. She hated that Tom lived right across her, as it made it so difficult to avoid meeting him. However, so far it had worked, possibly because he was avoiding her as much as she was avoiding him. Still optimistic from her sun lit daydream, Hermione felt a small pang in her chest at the thought of Tom hating her so much. Given he was probably _like her_ , they should be friends, help each other out during incidents like the cloth fire, instead of blaming each other. She had never met anyone else like her and the thought of not being weird _alone_ elated her.

Deep in such thoughts, Hermione didn't even notice as she reached her room. Nervously glancing at Tom's room, she shook her head quickly and quietly opened her door. It screeched a little and she squeezed her eyes shut, cringing her nose in tension. Not daring to open the door further, she swiftly squeezed through the narrow slit into her room and shut the door as quiet as possible. Placing palms on the door, she leaded forward with her forehead, listening for any sounds from the room next door. After few moments of silence, she turned to her bed with a small sigh of relief.

The sound caught in her throat the moment she turned, making her struggle for air. He was right _there_. _In her room!_ Stretched on the floor, bathing in the generous stream of light coming from her window. Hands locked behind his head and even a small smile playing on his lips. Hermione blinked. Her heart was beating wildly against her rib cage, but as it seemed he didn't notice her entry, she tried to calm herself. _Was he sleeping? On her floor?_ _What on Earth was he thinking?_

Frozen on the spot, unsure if she should move, Hermione just stared at the boy in front of her. She hated to admit it, but he was really beautiful. She'd noticed the first time they've met. Maybe this was partly why she was so intimidated by him. His skin was porcelain, his hair dark and smooth, gently falling and glistening around his eyes. His features were symmetrical and perfect, straight nose and pink lips. Sleeping like that in the sunlight made him look angelic. Once again Hermione felt the pang of regret for not being able to be his friend. Her young brain did not understand it yet, but she was attracted to him for some reason. She wanted to see him. She wanted to be allowed to talk to him.

Intimidation took its toll and she slowly eased the door handle down, trying to sneak back out unnoticed. Just before she slipped through the narrow opening, however, her eyes fell on something next to the boy. It was a book. _Her_ book, she realized. And it was… _torn_!

She gasped, forgetting everything and threw herself to get the ripped pages. At the sound of her gasp, Tom's eyes snapped open and he jumped from the floor looking embarrassed and angry. Hermione did not care though, as she kneeled next to the book, running hands through the destroyed sites.

'Y-you ripped my book!' she sobbed. 'Why did you do that? _Why_?'

Still startled Tom grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed her hard on the ground, almost knocking the air out of her lungs.

' _Shut up_!' he snarled, digging his fingers deeper. 'Shut up and stop crying!'

Adrenalin rushed through her and she started waving with hands, crying and trying to get away from him. But he was older and stronger and she couldn't move him at all. With a nasty grimace he leaned into her, trapping her head with his forehead, and hissed:

'Stop fighting or I'll _hurt_ you!'

He shook her hard. She stopped moving and stared at him with wet, hateful eyes.

' _Why_ did you destroy my book!' she whined again and shut her eyes, not wanting to face him. Tears leaked down her cheeks.

He responded by lifting his hand and she flinched as fingers touched her face lightly. Startled she looked back at him. His expression was still contorted with anger. Covering her mouth with wide open palm, he dug deep in her cheeks, holding her fixed under him.

'I'm going to rip your jaw off, if you don't stop crying this very instant. Do you understand me?'

Hermione's eyes widened and she stared at him blinking. His grip tightened and pain seared through her face.

' _Do. You. Understand. Me?_ '

She began nodding vigorously, which came out only as small jerks, as he held her too hard. He did not let go, so she tried to add a muffled sound of agreement to reassure him. Grey eyes scanned her features, as if assessing if it was indeed safe to let go of her. So she tried to infuse obedience in all her expression.

'Good girl,' he nodded curtly after few seconds and pulled her suddenly in upright position.

His palm was loose on her mouth, but she did not dare to move.

'You will not scream or cry?'

'No,' she whispered in his hand.

He pulled it away and stood up at once. Seeing he was planning to leave just like that, Hermione jumped after him.

'Wait!' she tried to sound as calm as possible. 'I'm not crying, b-but… _why_ did you destroy my book?'

She swallowed a painful lump in her throat and willed herself not to cry.

He just shrugged and grabbed the handle of the door.

' _Tom_!' Hermione stomped her foot.

He froze at the door and turned his gaze at her slowly.

'Tell me, please.' She hated that her eyes were watering again, but she really loved the book and he had destroyed it! ' _Why_?'

There was a click and the door was closed back. He stared at her for a moment before a small nasty smirk spread on his face.

'Because,' he said, 'it is a stupid book.'

She gaped.

'It's not stupid! It's really famous!'

'So what? It just means that many stupid people like it.' He dismissed and narrowing his eyes added nastily, ' _Like you_.'

' _You_ are stupid, Tom Riddle!' Hermione stomped her foot again, getting railed up. 'The book is beautiful, and sad, and clever, and you… you _ruined_ it!'

She thrust hand forward, clutching the torn book. Tom's nostrils flared and he took a step towards her.

Sudden voices coming from the stairs froze both of them. They looked at closed door and then at each other and, before Hermione could comprehend it, Tom's hand closed on her wrist and pull her harshly towards him. She squeaked in surprise and found herself pressed with the back at the door. Strong grip at her throat cut her air supplies and with it the growing screams.

'If you make a single noise, I will _crush_ you!' he hissed. 'Do you get that?'

The pressure on her throat increased and made her want to cough. Tearing, she nodded.

He leered at her.

'You haven't seen anything yet! I've been all but good to you! You still have to pay me back for the trouble you've put me in. So don't make it worse on yourself. _Understand_?'

She nodded again, and placed a shaking hand on his grip. He looked at it for a moment and then back at her reddening face. Then slowly eased away from her. She gulped for air greedily and cupped her sore throat.

The voices were now nearing, and they could both hear distinctively the name _Tom_ in the conversation. Hermione warily gazed up at the boy in front of her and he cut her an accusative look. _I didn't do anything,_ she mouthed. Looking irritated, Tom pulled her away from the door and righted her cloths a little. Then to her shock, he also wiped her tears away and even tried to tuck her curls. It was in vein of course.

'This doesn't work with you, does it?' he looked disapprovingly at her.

She felt heat burning her cheeks as she shook head. With an annoyed sigh he pulled the torn book from her hands and began righting the pages, before returning it back to her.

'Fix your face! You look like you are about to explode!' he threw as he stepped away from her and leaned on the wall.

She blushed even deeper and hugging the book close, sat on the bed.

The people were now standing outside of her door. There was a muffled knock, suggesting they were looking for Tom.

'Tom?' came the voice of Mrs Cole. 'Are you there?'

Hermione raised eyebrows and looked questioningly at Tom. He was frowning and staring at the door as if seeing right through it.

' _Tom_?'

Another knock. Then his door screeched lowly and some more muffled voices followed. After a few seconds the door closed.

'Why don't you…' Hermione began.

' _Shut your mouth!_ ' he gritted through teeth and his eyes flashed something savage.

And so she did. Looking quickly down at the floor, she prayed the people will leave soon and he will finally go back to his room.

A new, louder, knock broke the small silence. Her head snapped up. A knock on _her_ door. _How did they know he is here?_ She looked at Tom in panic. He clearly didn't want to meet those people, but they would enter her room anyway, even if they stayed silent. His frown deepened even further, before he nodded slowly at her.

'Hermione, dear?' Mrs Cole called, before knocking once more again.

Hermione cleared her throat nervously.

'Y-yes, Mrs Cole?' she squeaked.

'Oh, dear, can we come in?'

Glancing at Tom for confirmation, Hermione hesitated a little before stammering quickly:

'Y-yes, of course, Mrs Cole, come in!'

The door flung open and Mrs Cole entered followed by an odd-looking, tall, red-haired man. His eyes jumped quickly between her and Tom and a small twinkle shimmered in them. Mrs Cole looked mortified for a short moment, before quickly composing herself.

'Tom! Hermione! W-what are you two doing here?' she squealed. 'It's such a nice day outside!'

Tom stepped forward.

'We were talking about our favourite book, Mrs Cole.' His sudden politeness made Hermione gape.

'A b-book?' Mrs Cole looked as puzzled.

'Yes, _The Little Prince,_ Mrs Cole. I was just telling Hermione how beautiful and sad it is.'

Hermione felt her head was going to fume. _Such a liar!_

'Ah, a wonderful book indeed!' exclaimed the guest man, smiling warmly.

All three turned to him as if just remembering his presence. Mrs Cole cleared her throat and, flushing for some reason, said breathlessly:

'Tom, this is Professor Dumbledore. He has come to talk to you.'

Tom's polite façade fell immediately.

'A professor? You mean like a _doctor_?' he narrowed his eyes. 'Did you bring him for _me_?'

He pushed from the wall and took a step towards Hermione.

'It was not my fault! It was _hers_!' his finger trembled in her direction. 'She is the… _freak_!'

'What?!' Hermione gasped.

'Tom!' Mrs Cole exclaimed and covered her mouth in shock.

'I-it's OK, Mrs Cole! I can see there is a misunderstanding here!' the professor cut in and everyone turned to him again.

His eyes jumped again between Hermione and Tom and then he added softly to Mrs Cole:

'I actually came to talk to Hermione as well. Wasn't planning to do it this soon, but seeing that there is already… well, some need for clarification – I don't see why not killing two birds with one stone. Or something more pleasant. Never really liked this proverb anyway. A bit too brute for my taste, don't you think?'

He flashed a bright smile at the older woman as she looked baffled at what to respond that.

'Now, if you allow me to have few words with the kids, we'll be good to go in no time!' He gently guided Mrs Cole to the corridor and kissed her hand. 'Thank you for all your assistance, Mrs Cole!'

The kids heard her giggle and actually exchanged incredulous looks, before the professor turned around and closed the door behind him. Tom scowled again.

'Well', the man smiled. 'I am sure you are wondering what this is about…'

Hermione smiled unsurely, while Tom opened his mouth to speak.

'Now, now,' the professor raised hand. 'If you would let me explain first… As I understand, you two had already have some common experience with … strange incidents, am I correct?'

Hermione looked at Tom shyly and mumbled in agreement. Tom narrowed his eyes at her, before giving a curt nod to the professor.

'Well, there you go!' exclaimed Dumbledore enthusiastically. 'Then as you probably have already guessed, having strange incidents is not something that happens only to you alone, right? The truth is that there are many-many people in the world that can make things happen that seem… well, yes, _strange_ to the rest.'

Hermione widened her eyes. She felt the professor was about to say something very important and life-changing. She glanced quickly at Tom again. His frown was still there, but there was also a hungry look on his face and he was actually leaning slightly forward, as if barely containing himself before receiving the information he was about to hear.

'You see, you two, Ms Granger and Mr Riddle, are witch and wizard,' Dumbledore paused and smiled even warmer as Hermione gasped softly. 'And I have the pleasure to invite you to join the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to complete you education as one of us and officially join our world.'

There was a moment of silence, before Tom burst into uncharacteristic giggle and startled Hermione out of her shock. Dumbledore nodded and directed his smile at Tom.

'I-I..' Tom muffled the outburst with effort and almost whispered, staring at his hands. 'I was _sure_ I was _special_! I mean, I could _do_ things. Things that scared everyone and they thought I was crazy. They were afraid and made me stay away… I…'

He whirled on Hermione.

' _You_!' he glared at her accusatively. 'It _was_ you who set that cloth on fire! And you let them punish me!'

'Wha..n-no!' she screeched. 'I-I didn't know! I was not sure what happened…'

' _Liar!_ ' Tom barked. 'You heard _him_. He said that we must have known we are … _special_ for a while! So things like that happened to you before as well! You _knew_ it's your fault and you _lied_!'

'I didn't lie!' Hermione screamed feeling embarrassed and stomped her foot. 'I-I tried to tell them… I wanted to talk to _you_! But-but…'

She trailed off. Tom was staring at her with flared nostrils and something in his eyes told her he would be very, very angry if she'd admitted she was afraid of him.

'I-I… didn't get the chance to talk to you…' she finished hollowly.

Tom huffed annoyed and crossed his arms defensively.

'Now, now, children,' Dumbledore had followed the exchange carefully and was now measuring them from above his moon-shaped glasses. 'It's alright. This is an unusual situation. Normally muggle-born kids don't witness magic from others until they go to school and are already introduced to our world…'

'Muggle-born, Sir?' Hermione repeated.

'Children of non-magical parents, Ms Granger,' explained professor Dumbledore. 'There are many like you two out there actually and I am sure you will all be of a help to each other, while you get used to the magical world…'

'My parents were not… _muggles_!' Tom suddenly cut in.

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows slightly.

'Oh? I was told that you don't know your parents, Tom, as you were born here. And shortly after your mother… well, passed away… sadly.'

Tom blushed.

'Well, yes. But it means that they could have been wizards too! I just don't know that for sure yet, right?'

'Yes, that's right, Tom,' Dumbledore nodded slowly. 'It could very well be…'

'I bet they were!' Tom breathed quickly with the hungry look back on his face.

Dumbledore frowned slightly.

'Not that it matters, Tom. Magic is the same in everybody, no matter who their parents are…'

'Is it though? Because I can _do_ things! On _purpose._ _She_ speaks of them as accidents, but I _choose_ to do things! I can _control_ it!' Tom interrupted again, throwing a nasty look at Hermione.

'Well, this is very good of you, Tom. But learning control of your magic is something everybody can master and Hogwarts is, dare I say, one of the best places to do so.' The professor smiled encouragingly at Hermione.

She looked at her hands for a moment and swallowed.

'My… my parents were not wizards.' She whispered.

'I'm sure they would have been very proud to know that they have a real witch in the family, Hermione!' said professor Dumbledore gently.

She felt a sudden lump in her throat and, trying to swallow it down, just nodded.

Dumbledore cleared his throat and let a smile spread on his face again.

'Well, I am sure you two have millions of questions,' his voice was light and cheering. 'But I want to assure you everything will come to its place with time. You don't need to worry about anything, as Hogwarts always takes care of its students. And if you would indeed like to join us, we also provide help for children in… your situation. So you don't need to worry about money either. You will be living in our school and of course will be able to come back for the holidays whenever you want!'

Tom and Hermione gasped at the same time.

'You mean we get to leave the orphanage and go live with you?' Hermione almost squeaked.

'Can I stay there all the time?' Tom spoke over her forcibly.

Dumbledore looked at them with twinkling eyes.

'So am I to understand that you are both interested in joining us…'

'Yes!' they said together.

'Great! Then I would have to ask you to address me as Professor Dumbledore or Sir from now on, so we can keep things official as it should be.'

Tom stiffened a little and morphed a polite expression once more, which startled Hermione all over again.

'Of course, Professor Dumbledore! I apologies for our disrespect. I was just really happy to be offered to join your school and Hermione here is still very young to know how to behave.' He almost smirked at her noise of protest. 'Will we be able to stay at Hogwarts over the vacation period as well… sir?'

Dumbledore looked slightly apologetic himself when he replied.

'For the winter holidays it will be possible indeed, Mr Riddle. But I am afraid that you will have to come back here over the summer period…,' he looked at the grimed expressions of the children and added encouragingly. 'But I am sure you will find comfort in the fact that you will at least have each other's presence when you are back here, as you will have at least one person to talk to about your Hogwarts experiences.'

Hermione tried to force a smile, however she felt as grim as Tom looked. _Yeah, right_! She doubted her and Tom will become friends even now that it turned out they were to both going to a magical school. He was just _mean_ and being a wizard did _not_ change that.

'That, of course, will be in few years for you, Hermione,' added Professor Dumbledore and her eyes grew bigger, 'as you are still too young to join Hogwarts…'

'But, Sir!' she protested.

'I'm sorry, Hermione, you need to be eleven in order to learn how to control your magic…'

Hermione felt outraged! _Eleven_! This was not in another three years! _Three years_!

'But _I_ get to go… Sir?' Tom's smug voice inflamed her even further.

'Yes, Tom, this is why I had come today. There are few things we need to discuss further and maybe we can go to your room…'

'But, Sir!' Hermione interrupted again. 'I am old enough! I read books and I had excellent grades when I went to school!'

Dumbledore's face softened and he gently took her hand in his.

'I am sure you will be an excellent student of Hogwarts, Hermione. But these are the rules, I hope you can understand that?'

She quirked her lips and said nothing.

Dumbledore chuckled a little bit and said:

'I am sure Mr Riddle will share many things from Hogwarts and when you join you will already have the feeling you've been there for years!'

'Of course, Professor Dumbledore,' Tom smiled pleasantly at Hermione and she looked hatefully at him. _He was not going to share anything with her_!

'Here,' said professor Dumbledore as if offering some peace and to her horror pulled the book from her hands. 'Let me give you a small taste of Hogwarts, which hopefully will help you with the wait….oh!'

He has opened the book and the torn pages fell out.

Hermione turned crimson. He surely was thinking she did that. Glancing at Tom, she saw him throwing her warning looks again.

'S-sir…' she stuttered. 'I-I… fell asleep on it by accident and tore the pages…'

Embarrassed, she felt her eyes tearing up again.

The surprise on Dumbledore's face melted away and he patted her on the head.

'It happens even to the best of us, Hermione! I can't tell you how many times I had woken up with a page stuck on my cheek. And somehow it's always the best books that take a toll on me. I guess my mind gets so wrapped up that it decides to wander on its own and leave my poor body unconscious.'

Hermione snuffled and smiled warily.

'Here, let me fix that for you,' Dumbledore pulled a long wooden stick (at which point both Tom and Hermione gasped and stepped closer) and with a few taps the pages _magically_ re-attached themselves back to the book.

'Sir!' Hermione breathed in awe and beamed at him.

Dumbledore chuckled and flipped through the book.

'Good as new!' He announced. 'Now shall we make some proper alterations?'

He winked and tap again on an illustration from the book. It suddenly came to live and now the little blond boy and the fox were moving around the page, seeming talking and enjoying each other's company.

'You can make the book characters alive?' Tom couldn't hold his enthusiasm. 'What else can you do? Can you make them real... sir?'

The kids shifted closer to the man and stared in disbelief at the moving image.

'This is how all magic books are, Tom. And no, they are not really alive, but you can see that they actually adopt the personality of their character description.'

Hermione trembled with excitement.

'I _can't wait_ to go to Hogwarts!' she whispered.

Dumbledore smiled warmly at her again and handed her the book back.

'Here, something to help you pass the restless time of wait.'

'Oh, Sir! Thank you so much!' she cried and carefully took the book. 'I will _never_ … fall asleep on it again!'

Tom glanced at her menacingly and she knew he wanted to book for himself now. _Not so stupid anymore, huh,_ she thought bitterly.

'Alright!' Dumbledore clapped with hands. 'Shall we go to your room, Tom, and discuss all the details of your enrollment?'

'Yes, Sir!' Tom's expression changed to eager politeness again.

The two turned to leave, pausing just briefly at the door for Dumbledore to add:

'I will see you in three years Hermione! We will be exceptionally happy to have you!'

She nodded lost for words and smiled brightly. Behind Dumbledore, Tom narrowed his eyes at her and turned to his room.

The door closed quietly.


	3. Chapter 3 - Deals with the devil

**_June, 1939_**

 **Wool's orphanage**

 **TR, 12**

Tom Riddle was bored out of his mind. It's been few weeks since he was back at the orphanage and he was already feeling violent. He had always hated the place, but after a year in Hogwarts, soaked in magic, getting back to Wool's was unbearable. And what was worse – _he was not allowed to do any magic!_ Not even _accidental._ Dumbledore had warned him specifically to watch out for incidents, or he could be expelled from the school as he was expected to be able to control himself by now. _Hah!_ He's been able to control his magic since he was _5!_ His mouth shaped a silent snarl. _Stupid, useless muggles!_ It was all _their_ fault! Because they could not… _would not_ know about _his_ world, he was supposed to pretend to be like _them_ and even worse – he was forbidden from doing the only thing he now knew for certain he was _born_ to do. Magic was consuming every fibre of his being, every thought and every breath. He was barely containing himself, and it was only the beginning of the summer. Tom fisted his hands and tried to calm himself. He could _feel_ the strange energy rushing through him, waiting to come out, to be _guided_. He stood up from the bed and started walking back and forth in his room, hands still fisted in his pockets. He had to do something. Had to find something to keep his mind off magic or otherwise he'd slip and have an accident, and then… he couldn't even think of it. He glanced around, slightly out of breath. His text books and numerous additional readings he'd taken from the library with a special permission were all coaxing him to take them, learn them… _practice_ them.

In need to get the agitation out of his system, Tom knew exactly who to visit this dull morning. Feeling a sudden rush of energy, he briskly stormed out of his tiny room, away from magic and away from Hogwarts. He needed to refocus on something else. Something that was _almost_ as engaging and entertaining. It didn't take him long, however, to realize that _the_ _girl_ was nowhere to be seen. Not in her room, not in the courtyard, nowhere.

Chewing his breakfast now, he frowned slightly as he scanned the dining room again. The few other kids present at these early hours were huddling together, trying not to draw unwanted attention. The distinctive bushy nest of Hermione, however, was missing. Tom bit irritably at his bread.

Sometime later, still frowning, Tom slowly began to walk the perimeter of the orphanage, including some of his favorite hidey-spots, which he doubted anyone else knew of. Hermione was gone. After covering the ground twice, Tom finally gave up, settled under the lone tree of the courtyard and scanned quickly the surroundings again for good measure. The few kids that have managed to finish up their duties, where now lazily strolling around, chatting and gossiping about whatever kept their interest in this mediocre routine. Tom began pulling the grass absently, staring straight without seeing. _What she picked up_? _Adopted while he was in Hogwarts_? He'd been so preoccupied with his own brood, he didn't even think about Hermione until now. Deepening his frown, he tried to recall if he'd seen her at eating time the last few weeks. He had no idea. This was bugging him. He couldn't exactly say why, but the thought of Hermione gone was surprisingly unpleasant. She'd left him _here._ With these… _idiots_! Who knew _nothing_ about what he was! Tom closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. The irritation in him was still growing and he feared if he didn't find a way to distract himself, he'd accidentally _do_ something.

He looked around again. It took him awhile to walk the whole place, looking for the stupid brat and it was already late morning. Soon, everyone would start gathering for lunch and he decided to wait up and see if Hermione would show up then. If she _was_ here, there was no way she'd starve herself on purpose. She _must_ show up then!

The next few hours, which felt like an eternity to Tom, he lay in the shadow of the tree and waited patiently. As the lunch approached the yard quickly emptied and soon enough the clattering of dishes coming through the opened dining window reached his ears. His stomach gurgled grumpily and, cursing, he made a move to stand up. Just as he was about to come out of the shadows of the tree, a sudden rustling in the fence bushes caught his attention. Leaning close behind the trunk, Tom watched in disbelief as the ever rule-obedient Hermione crawled out from underneath the brunches. Glancing nervously around, she dusted off her hands and knees and carefully sneaked towards the dining window. There she crouched and just sat waiting… or was it listening for something. Tom watched her through narrowed eyes wishing to know what was in her mind. She was oblivious to his spying and crouched at the window for a good half hour or so. Tom's curiosity was quickly substituted with utter irritation by the situation and just as he was about to make a move towards her and demand what she was doing, the girl finally began moving. It coincided with general stirring from the dining area and Tom finally understood. He remained in the shadows, smirking grimly. _She was hiding from him_! She was hiding, somewhere outside of the orphanage and she was sneaking for food while everyone was busy leaving the room. _Clever, clever girl_. Not so much though. This made things even more fun!

 **HG, 8**

Hermione dropped cross-legged on the grass and blissfully closed her eyes. The dew from the fresh morning was finally gone and now she could freely stretch on the hidden meadow, basking in the afternoon sun. _She made it again_. Sneaking through the orphanage unnoticed for the past few weeks was definitely a challenge. She had to wake up exceptionally early and rush through all her duties, before anyone spotted her. And by anyone, of course she meant _him_. Hermione frowned slightly. Of course, _he_ was the reason for this morning rush and she was beginning to hate it. Ever since Tom returned from Hogwarts, Hermione put all her efforts in completely avoiding him. Even during lunch and dinner, she'd hide behind the bigger kids or only enter once everyone was busy leaving and gulf her food at top speed, nearly crouching at the back of the room. And even if all this came with a significant amount of discomfort, she was perfectly fine with it, as long as it meant she never had to talk to Tom again. It's been almost a year since their last encounter and Hermione had not forgotten how awful and vile Tom was.

Her frown deepened and she opened eyes, feeling suddenly offended. He really _was_ _horrid_. She had her book as a reminder of it. _Her book_ … She pulled it out of a small bag, together with an apple she managed to sneak from the dining room, and scanned over it lovingly. Munching slowly, she flipped through the pages and stared for the hundredth time at the moving image of the little prince and his short-term companion. They smiled at her briefly, before proceeding with their seemingly engulfing debate.

After a while Hermione tore her gaze from it and flipped further. As she reached the end, she stopped chewing and run her fingers through the book. _There_ was the reminder of Tom's vileness. Neatly torn, the last two pages of the book were missing, and Hermione was willing to bet they were long gone somewhere in a garbage pile, never to be seen again. Because you see, after Professor Dumbledore and Tom had left her room on that months-ago warm summer afternoon, Hermione had looked and looked at the magical life infused in her book for countless happy minutes. And the more she looked, the more she began dreading the moment the good professor will leave. She already knew Tom wanted _this_ version of The Little Prince. And there was nothing she could do to stop him, when he came for it.

Of course, it hadn't taken long for this to happen. The moment she glimpsed the odd-looking professor striding through the grim courtyard, her door had flung open with Tom storming in, looking as angry as ever. She'd backed off to the wall, clutching the book protectively to her chest. But Tom had forced it out of her none too gently and left her crying behind as he'd move for the door. She'd been so upset to lose her first ever magical possession this fast, that she even screamed at him, calling him a thief. However, this had been clearly the wrong thing to say as he'd become even madder, grabbing her painfully by the wrist again. He had threatened to punish her should she tell on him and, to prove it – had made a searing needle-like pain pierce her whole arm just by looking at it. Hermione had spent the next few days crying unstoppably.

After this incident Hermione encountered Tom only once more, a few days before his departure for Hogwarts. She knew that he had gone to a _magical_ place to get his things for the new school and even terrified as she was, Hermione could not contain herself from trying to get a small glimpse of what he'd brought. After she'd mustered some courage to knock on his door, she had been taken aback at how calm and welcoming Tom was at first. He'd opened up and looked at her for few moments, before smirking widely and letting her in. Hermione heart had nearly stopped as he stepped aside and revealed a whole room filled with trinkets and books that made her head spin from excitement. However, as Tom politely offered to show her everything he'd bought, Hermione began to realize what the smirk on his face meant. He'd been thrilled to rub in her face that he was soon going to Hogwarts and she was going to be left behind for another three whole years. Realizing this, Hermione began hating Tom more and more with each smug look he gave her. So she'd instinctively done the only thing that could have pissed him off and wipe that smirk off his face – she had pretended she didn't care. Putting her nose up as high as it went, she'd dismissed everything Tom was trying to show her and in the end only asked to have her book back. She should have been extremely satisfied with Tom's immediate mood change; however, as she was still thoroughly terrified by him, it only made her regret it. Tom had thrown the book at her feet (' _keep your stupid, muggle book! I have so many more that are far better!_ '), but not before tearing the last two pages from it, declaring he still needs to finish reading them. Hermione had been speechless with fury, but as for unknown to her reasons he'd left the magically enhanced illustrations intact, she'd quickly collected the book before he could reconsider, bit back the _'why do you want to finish it then'_ retort and stormed out of his room without a single word.

This was the last time they'd seen each other before he'd gone to Hogwarts. But every time she looked at her magical illustration (which was every single day), she was unwillingly thinking of Tom as well. And as the winter-break came and went, Hermione found herself oddly disappointed that Tom never showed up. Around this time she also began attempting to do magic on purpose like Tom had talked about, wanting to prove to herself (and to Tom) that she was just as good as he was. To her overwhelming satisfaction, by the time summer break came Hermione had successfully perfected a number of magical tricks.

In a rush of enthusiasm, Hermione put the half-eaten apple down, tucked the book safely back in the bag and briskly stood up. It was time for practice.

 **TR, 12**

Tom was livid. She was doing magic! _She_! When he couldn't even _think_ about it, without fearing expulsion. And there she was, the little _unworthy_ brat, playing a witch. Rolling an apple around the grass like it's something special. Like _this_ is magic. Oh, how he wanted to go up there and show her what _real_ magic means. To _destroy_ this stupid apple into tiny pieces and also to stop the _stupid_ giggle of delight she was making every time the apple rolled. He was shaking with rage. Shaking with _jealousy_ too. How was it fair that she got to do magic, while he was forbidden?! Just because she was younger and supposedly couldn't control it. _She was controlling it alright_! Tom fisted hands and looked away for a moment, trying to calm himself. _Not that it mattered_. What she was doing was _useless_. Not real magic at all. At her age, _he_ was doing things that made people cry for weeks. Made them fear him, on some level, he believed, even _respect_ him. She was laughable and should be embarrassed by her mediocrity. He'd make sure of it.

 **HG, 8**

 _Woah_! This was something new! The apple had just suddenly detached from the ground and levitated eagerly into the air. It had caught Hermione by surprised, and she just blinked and stared it in disbelievingly. This was the first time she had made something fly on purpose. It had happened only once before, when they were cleaning her dad's life-long collection of special beverage glasses. At the time he was explaining her how and where he'd obtained each one of them, a glass slipped from Hermione's small hands and fell straight towards the hard floor. Hermione had squeaked in panic and try to grab it. But as she failed, she'd closed her eyes and waited for the crush of a broken glass to follow. It never did. The glass was floating just above the ground and her dad was staring at it, mouth ajar, in both astonishment and confused relief. It was the first time she'd done magic. The memory de-concentrated her and the apple toppled on the ground, disappearing under the nearby bush. Hermione pushed the thought of her dad far back, together with the adjacently resurfacing face of her mom, and skipped forward after the fruit. She made it _fly_! _Fly_! This was amazing! She couldn't wait to do it again! It was a big event for her and she almost wished there was someone else here to witness it.

Just as she was about the dive under the bush and rummage for the apple, the bush suddenly shook and a human figure jumped out of it. Hermione shrilled and stumbled backwards, before realizing who the intruder was. The scream died in her throat and she stared round-eyed at none other but Tom Riddle. Still tall and pale, he looked flustered and strangely out of breath. _And_ he was holding her apple. Hermione froze and stared at it. _Did he spy on her_? _Has he seen her magic_? Suddenly anxiety that had nothing to do with the fact that she was trapped with the boy of her nightmares in such a remote place filled her chest. Scrambling back to her feet, she stood in front of him and looked straight into those grey eyes. They seemed much brighter under the sun rays, she noticed.

After a few moments of silence, Tom's lips stretched upwards.

'Are you playing with your food?' he smirked and shook the bitten apple in her face.

Hermione blushed immediately at the unexpected tease.

' _No_!' she denied instinctively, before realizing how silly it was. 'I… I dropped it.'

She looked awkwardly at her feet to hide her flaming cheeks.

'Oh? Well, in this case, lucky I found it. Here, have it back,' Tom trusted it in her face. ' _Eat_ it!'

'Wha..?' Hermione pulled away from the muddy fruit and frowned slightly. 'N-no… I was done with it…'

'So then you _were_ playing with it?' his eyes narrowed and she couldn't tell if he was still teasing her or planning to get angry over her careless food treatment.

'I was _not_! I just dropped it, I told you…'

' _Liar_!' Tom hissed and leaned closer to her. ' _I saw you_!'

Hermione swallowed hard and held his angry gaze. _He saw her_. So he's seen the magic she can do… _on purpose_ , just like he'd bragged about last summer.

'You saw me?' she repeated in mixture of pride and anxiety. 'You saw what I _did_? What I _can_ do?'

Tom's eyes widened for a moment, running all over her face, and then, at sudden realization, he tossed his head back and laughed a hollow, forced laughter. Each dry bark shot more anxiety through Hermione. She tried to hold her ground and just looked questioningly at the sneering boy in front of her.

'What you can _do_?' he snorted, snapping his head back at her. 'You can do _nothing_!'

He took a step closer and waved the apple at her again.

'These are just tricks to keep _babies_ , like you, happy. It is _nothing_! _Nothing_ compared to what _I_ can do! To what I learnt to do in _Hogwarts_! I've seen _real_ magic! I've _done_ it! I know how it _feels_ …'

He cut off suddenly and swallowed almost hungrily. Then his gaze darkened.

'You are just some stupid little idiot playing a witch. But you are _nothing_ like _real_ magic!'

Hermione's heart dropped and she fisted hands trying not to show how disappointed she suddenly felt. Biting lip to hold it from trembling, she lowered her gaze again. _Of course_ _this is what Tom would do!_ Mock and bully her. What else was she expecting from him? Embarrassed by her own stupidity, Hermione forced herself to remain calm. Last thing she wanted was a fight with Wool's main bully. Especially, after he spent a year of improving his vile magic _tricks_.

'Well,' she swallowed. 'I am sure that once _I_ go to Hogwarts, I will learn a lot of _real_ things too. But for now all I can do is practice what I _can_ already do. I'm sure that before Hogwarts, this was just as much as you were able to…'

'Wait, wait.' Tom cut her off sharply, raising a hand.

Hermione pouted slightly at the gesture and frowned in worry, as glee shined through his narrowed eyes.

'This is _perfect_.' He hissed excitedly. 'Let me ask you. Are you… _comparing_ yourself to me?'

Despite the false mirth in his tone, Hermione instinctively knew that this was not good. Before she could say anything, he took another step towards her and leered even quieter.

'Are you trying to… _compete_ with _me_?'

Hermione felt her face growing redder than before.

' _No_! Why would I care to compete with you! I just want to do magic. The more I control it, the more I can do it! It's not like there is anything else I can do until I get to go to Hogwarts…'

She trailed off and pressed her lips together, looking away. The last thing she wanted is give him the opportunity to tease her about not being able to go to Hogwarts yet. She knew _he_ knew how much it upset her. But she would never admit it, no matter what.

Fingers squeezed her cheeks lightly and she jerked as he forced her to face him again. She stared at him in surprise.

'You are _lying_ … again.' His stupid grin reappeared slowly. 'You are a lair and you are playing with your food. _Tsk, tsk_. You really are _not_ a good kid…'

' _I am too_!' Hermione railed up instantly, stomping her foot.

 _Who was he to call her bad_! _He was the horrid bully_! She didn't dare saying it, but it seemed he'd read enough on her face, as he humphed nonchalantly and arrogantly stepped away. She glared at him as he walked slowly toward the centre of her meadow, tossing and catching the apple with one hand.

'What I don't understand is how you think of competing with me, when you are so… _inept_ in the magic you're doing.' He turned around looking suddenly serious. 'It's _offensive_ to have such a weak opponent, you know.'

Before Hermione could open mouth to reply, he caught the apple tighter and in one swift move threw it directly in her face.

Hermione squeaked and brought hands up for cover. The apple bounced painfully off her forearms and rolled back to Tom.

' _Hey_!' She screamed offended and glared at him blinking through suddenly welling tears. 'What are you doing? That _hurt_!'

She bit lip not to burst into tears right there in front of him. He'd _scared_ her! And the apple hit her really hard!

Tom just walked towards the apple and picked it again.

He gave her an angry look.

' _You are_ _useless_!' he spat. 'If your magic was powerful, it would protect you when you are in danger. What kind of witch are you if you cannot protect yourself even from an apple?!'

Hermione felt another jolt of hurt at his obvious scorn for her abilities. _She was still learning_! He was being unfair and horrible once again. She knew better than to entertain his thirst for bullying, and yet she couldn't hold back.

'I didn't know you were going to do that!' she protested angrily at the injustice. She hated that she wanted to cry even when she was angry. 'It wasn't _fair_! A-and you _hurt_ me!'

She rubbed the still painful spot at her arm. It would turn into a bruise later.

'It was your own fault,' he drawled as he looked at the apple he was tossing with one hand again.

' _You_ threw the apple! It was _your_ fault!' Hermione stomped foot again and felt rage finally pushing the tears away. 'You are horrible, Tom Riddle, horrible bully! And _you_ are the liar, not me!'

She didn't care if he was getting angry too, she didn't care that he stopped tossing the stupid apple. All she knew was that his smirk was finally gone. And it only made her feel angrier. Squeezing her eyes tight not to see his smug face anymore, balling her hands into fists, she let the rage out.

' _IhateyouIhateyouIHATEYOU!_ '

A loud _pop_ followed her cry and she flung her eyes open in surprise. _Did he curse her_? She looked at herself and then at him. She gasped. Tom stood perfectly still in the middle of the grass, looking stunned at his hand. The hand in which he held the apple only few seconds ago was now empty and wet. It was not difficult to see where the apple had gone, as he was cover from head to toe in small wet apple pieces. The apple had… burst? Did _she_ do that? Did she _explode_ the apple? She could do _that_ too?

She inhaled slowly in disbelief. Tom's attention snapped to her at the low sound. His eyes pierced hers and without any words he stalked over to her threateningly. Hermione felt the blood draining from her face as she tried to step away. But there were bushes everywhere and she could not run from him fast enough. In few strides he was at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and squeezing her hard.

'I'm s-sorry! I'm sorry!' she wailed.

He shook her hard and she covered face in hands, sobbing scared.

'I didn't want to hurt you! I just got angry…' she was now panicking and slightly hyperventilating. Is he going to curse her now? Punish her in some unthinkable magical way?

The fear took a hold of her and she sank on the grass, as her legs gave in. Crying helplessly she waited for his anger to unleash. After a while, reason finally penetrated through her sobs and cries. She was not hurting anywhere. Aside from being scared to death she was actually just fine. He was still holding her by the shoulders, crouching on the grass next to her, but nothing else. Calming herself a little, she swallowed the last wave of sobs and timidly looked up at him through her fingers.

He was frowning deep and clenching his teeth.

'Done?' he gritted the moment she looked at him.

Hermione's eyes immediately stung with tears again, but she pressed lips and nodded miserably.

His nostrils flared for a moment and then he slowly pulled her to her feet. Stepping away from her, he turned around and said stiffly:

'You are useless in your magic. And you will probably never become anything more than … _ordinary_. But…'

He looked back at her through narrowed eyes.

'Like that _old crook_ said, we are the only non-muggles here. And this will be the case for the next years to come. So it seems we are indeed stuck with each other. And…' he seemed to pick his next words carefully. 'And maybe indeed I can try to teach you something seeing how absurdly unskilled you are.'

Hermione blinked.

 _Teach?_

'What do you…' she frowned and her mouth just hung open. _He offered to teach her?!_ After all this bullying and threatening and _hurting,_ he just suddenly offers to be _nice_? Help her out?

He must have read the indignation on her face again, as his face abruptly contorted with anger and before she knew it, he'd spun around and dug his fingers deep in her hair, twisting and pulling her painfully towards his face.

'Don't imagine anything! It's not like I expect you to be able to _do_ anything. But in this place... you'll have to do, I guess. You wouldn't be my first choice in any other situation. But it's not like I have other options either. You _need_ to become less inadequate before you go to Hogwarts and I need to… practice too. So it's not a favor or anything.'

Hermione tried to hold back a pained grimace as she looked at his cool face. _Was he kidding? If not...should she really do it_? It's not like he would leave her alone anyway. Her hiding was successful for few weeks, but she never imagined she could hide from him for the next years to come.

Before she could muster a reply, he suddenly released her, pushing her slightly away.

'This spot is good actually. We'll be meeting here for the practice every day before and after lunch. And… don't you dare pull such a stunt as with the apple again! Do you understand me? I will make you regret it doubly – for today and for the next time!'

'I didn't mean to…' Hermione protested at once.

'I don't care! You need to control your magic or otherwise you are just a brainless oaf with undeserved magic.'

Hermione lowered gaze slightly embarrassed. She _did_ want to learn control over her magic and not having to wait till she was eleven was trilling. But having Tom as a teacher didn't promise any good and she still was not sure it wasn't some trap of his to bully her again.

'I don't believe you.' She muttered. 'You just want to trick me…'

Tom exhaled seemingly annoyed and walked off without bothering to respond to the center of the meadow again.

Stretching on the grass, he obviously got ready to bask in the late afternoon sun.

Hermione stood and blinked uncertain for a moment, looking at him. She remembered that distant summer afternoon when she found him soaking sun in her room. He apparently enjoyed it, unlike what she expected, but was probably never going to admit it. This is why, as she had later realized it, he was hiding in her room while enjoying it. His room was on the east side and sun only came in the morning. Now as she looked at him, she remembered wishing they could become friends. _How stupid was she_ _back then_! Just because he was _pretty_ , she'd fantasized of becoming friends with a real bully. She'd thought he will see how good and nice she was and will become nicer himself as a result. _As if_. Almost snorting Hermione shook her head and turned to leave. She would never be that stupid again, she promised herself.

'Where do you think you are going?' he snapped without opening his eyes.

Hermione looked back.

'Umm..'

'Your first lesson starts today. Come here. And get this damned apple off me.'

He peaked at her cunningly.

'No hands.'

Hermione resented the bossy tone. But she couldn't resist the practice.


	4. Chapter 4 - Life lessons

_July, 1939_

 **Wool's orphanage**

 **HG, 8**

'So… you want me to _find_ an object in this room that it not like the others?' Hermione finally broke the long stretch of silence.

Tom exhaled irritably and put down his book.

'No,' he said pointedly. 'I said you should _point out_ the object that does not _belong_ here!'

Hermione pondered for a moment.

'That's what I said, right?'

' _No_ , it's not the same! Pay attention!' he snapped again. 'I don't want you to _find_ it. I want you to _point_ it. And not something that is _different_ , but something that does not _belong_ here _._ '

He gestured impatiently around. They were sitting in his tiny room – Hermione cross-legged on the floor in front of a small metal bin and Tom stretched comfortably on his bed, leaning on pillows and lazily flipping through a thick, ancient-looking book. Hermione would give anything to be able to read the book instead of crouching on the floor, trying to do tricks, which she was beginning to doubt were even possible to do. _Point out something that does not belong here…_

'How can I point out something, if you tell me I don't need to find it first?' she couldn't hold back. She's been at it for the last twenty minutes already, and the utter confusion at what he expected her to do, together with the increasing irritation at the fact that he apparently didn't even care if she managed or not, had pushed her past intimidation.

"Lessons" with Tom had proven to be every bit as unpleasant as she expected them to be. To begin with, he never explained anything, nor did he bother asking if _she_ had questions. All he ever did was demand things, expecting his command would be sufficient for her to figure out how.

It started from their very first lesson, where he did nothing but just lay on her grass ( _she had found this spot_!), sunbathing blissfully, while she sat uncomfortably nearby, trying to levitate apple pieces off him. She had _no_ idea how she made the apple fly before! So she sat and stared, until cramps shot through her legs. It was impossible to concentrate either, as she kept irritably thinking of how Tom keeps ruining her life and wished he would go away already. Then she remembered that in few years there will be no escape from him and that put her in a whole new wave of self-pity. And by the time dinner approached, Tom was still covered in apple and Hermione felt more desperate than ever. Seeing she didn't succeed in removing any of the fruit, he'd shake it off manually and called her _useless_ the whole way back.

To make things even worse, for some unfathomable reason, he also decided to sit together during dinner, shocking her and frankly the whole Wool's with it. Of course, during dinner he did not suddenly turn into a pleasant companion, or even a silent grumpy one. No, he kept insisting she does magic, like _move the spoon_ or _heat his dinner_ , which barely let her eat. Naturally, she failed in all her attempts, although in whole honesty she didn't really try hard enough this time, as the last thing she wanted was for some of the kids to spot her doing _weird_ things.

This routine kept going for a good while, and by the end of July people already got accustomed to the strange pair during meals. In the meantime, while Hermione was getting better at small magic, she did not always manage to do it at will and almost half of the times nothing happened. And whenever she _did_ manage, Tom never praised her. He would just get that strange hungry look on his face and press her for more.

Which brought us back to now. They had been having lessons in his room for the past few days as the continuous rain made it impossible to hide in the meadow, without raising suspicion at the fact that they were both constantly soaked and muddied. Unfortunately, once they moved to his room, Tom seemed to be incapable of focusing on anything else but his books (Hermione couldn't blame him for that!) and he barely paid any attention to her, unless she finally managed to do some magic. Then he'd focus on her for all the while it lasted, which was usually just a few minutes, before she gets nervous from the attention and loses concentration, cancelling the spell.

Today was no different; with the exception that she didn't succeed in any of the tasks he gave her so far, and by now Tom had completely sank in his book and barely even recognized her presence. _But this is because he keeps giving me stupid tasks_ , Hermione thought for the hundredth time defensively. She had spent a good part of the afternoon trying to conjure food out of nothing, as Tom had suddenly decided he wanted to eat knickerbocker glory, topped with strawberry syrup. The idea of getting whichever treat she had a sweet tooth for at any moment of the day seemed thrilling, and she was certain she'd manage to do this one just out of the shear enthusiasm. However, after what felt an eternity of failed attempts, Tom had suddenly looked out from his book and stopped her by announcing that ' _Ah, apparently, based on Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration, it's not possible to conjure food, so forget it'._ Hermione had fumed. _Forget it._ She spent so much time imagining details of the ice cream, she was properly hungry by now. Next he decided it would be fun to start a fire out of nothing, something she vehemently rejected until Tom irritably slammed the metal waste bin in front of her in concession. After countless attempts of conjuring the described by Tom bright blue flames of magical fire, Hermione began suspecting this was similarly impossible. However, when she tried to bring it up, Tom had completely ignored her, engulfed in reading. It had taken several repeats for her to finally get his attention, at which point, after she questioned the possibility of conjuring fire out of nothing ( _because, you see, with food it isn't possible!_ ), he'd snap back at her that _this_ was possible and _she_ was the reason for not being able to do it, as she is distracted and not motivated enough. She'd pouted and he'd gotten irritated and eventually he had come up with the most recent task. _Point out something that does not belong here_. This was getting ridiculous! He was just wasting her time for no apparent reason.

He was staring at her now. Book down, irritation glowing in his darkened gaze. He was always irritated by her presence until she did magic. Then he'd become something entirely different. She couldn't put a name to it quite yet though. Hungry was indeed the closest word she could come up with. And it didn't make her feel any better.

'You know what's your problem?' he started, narrowing his eyes.

Hermione just looked at him silently. There was no good answer to this question.

'You just keep asking so many _questions_! It's no wonder you can't do magic! You must have zero ability to keep your concentration.'

'I _am_ concentrated!' she retorted indignantly. _She'd always been careful and perfect at everything she did!_ 'It's _your_ tasks that are impossible! You keep asking me things that cannot possibly be done and then you tell me to do things that even you don't know what they mean…'

Tom shut the book loudly and straightened a little.

'Were you a _real_ witch, you'd stop using such words as _impossible_ , and you'd stop blaming _me_ for your lack of talent! And you'd maybe even be able to use your brain a little and figure out how to _make_ things _happen_! But instead, you just ask _question_ after _question_ , like it's a fucking lesson! Like you'll be praised for the good little student you are with all your _interesting_ _questions_! Just _shut up_ for a while and try to figure things out on your own! These are not things you get _taught_. These are things you _feel_. And when I tell you _point out_ something, just fucking shut your mouth _and_ your muggle perception, and let whatever excuse for magic you have inside you guide you! I want _it_ to point out what does not belong here, not _you_! I don't care about what _you_ think or want! Ugh, if I could just have your _magic_ here, without _you_ or your incessant talking and _asking_ for fuck's sake…'

Hermione's heart pumped in her ears, as she watched the older boy scream at her. She had never felt so … _stupid_ , so unprepared and so unskilled at what she was doing! She had always excelled at everything. And her parents had always been so proud of her for it. Suddenly she had the horrible thought of how disappointed they would be had they known that their daughter, their _special_ daughter, was not at all good at what she was supposed to be gifted with. She may have magic in her, but apparently it was not a strong one, as she kept failing at so many things Tom was convinced she was expected to do by now. And now he was even accusing her of being sloppy and not-committed enough to learn magic. And what was worse – for most of the time, he treated her like she was some annoying backward kid he was stuck with helping at school. And she was _never_ that kid! She was the one who _helped_ those kids, and taught them patiently. But she'd never had to be on the receiving end of such an imbalanced relationship. She hated it. Tears stung her eyes and she dropped her gaze before Tom saw it. He kept going with his rant, but she wasn't listening. She hated him so much right now. Oddly empowered and re-focused by her anger, she relaxed her gaze and let the strange energy within guide her. Without knowing what she was doing, she suddenly snapped her head up and pointed with a finger at Tom. He abruptly stopped talking and stared at her, narrowed eyes slightly rounding.

'What are you… ARGH!'

The boy jumped off the bed screaming and began frantically digging in his pants pocket. He pulled out something too small for Hermione to distinguish in his palm and threw it panicky across the room. The small object bounced off the wall and clattered towards Hermione. She gasped. It was a small chess figure. A knight, if she wasn't mistaken. And it was _moving_! Normally that would be enough of a shock for her, but she had gasped for a different reason. The knight was thrashing from side to side, covered in blue-blazing magical flames. Hermione cried out and rushed towards the figure on her hands and knees.

'Oh! I'm so _sorry_! I didn't mean to hurt you!' she was whispering to the small knight as she kept trying to put out the flames. 'Oh, please! _Please_! I don't know how to stop it!'

She whirled on Tom, holding the flaming figure in her hands.

'Tom! _Please_! Please! Make it stop! How do I make it stop? Tell me!'

Tom stood frozen on the spot, staring from her hands to her face and back, saying nothing.

Hermione looked around frantically for water. There was nothing in the small room. Clumsy from the hurry, she scrambled to her feet and ran towards the door. Just before she grabbed the handle, however, a hand blocked her way and turned her around.

'Tom! He is burning! We need to put it off! Let me go!' she trashed in his hands.

He shook her roughly by the shoulders. In her panicked mind, Hermione registered the movement of his lips and realized he was talking. She tried to regain her composure.

'You can _hold_ it?' he was saying. His voice was low, almost in awe.

'I.. what?' she blinked.

'You can hold it! It doesn't _burn_ you?' he pushed urgently, looking at the flaming object in her hands again.

Hermione looked at her hands too. It was true. The small knight kept blazing in the crystal flames, however her hands were fine. Ticklish and maybe a little cool. But fine. _Was the knight also fine then?_

'I… y-yes. I'm fine. It doesn't hurt… do you think he is also fi…'

Her words died as Tom pulled carefully her palm and run fingers through it, staring in disbelief. He was towering over her, trapping her between the door and his much taller body, bending face down to examine her hand and she suddenly felt her face turning crimson. No matter how much she hated him, and how awful he was to her most of the time, Hermione still felt uneasy at his proximity. She didn't know how to act or what to say when he was this close. His face was too close to her palm, she could feel his breath on it. Clutching the flaming figure in her other hand, she looked uncomfortably to the side, her body oddly shaking.

His gaze went up and coaxed her to look back at him again. _There was that look again_. Pupils dilated, nostrils flaring, he was drinking in her face like he'd seen her for the first time. He always did that when she did magic. She did not know what to think of it, but a part of her, a part she did not recognize with her conscious mind yet, had urged her to succeed in magic each time she tried, just so she can get him to look at her like that again. It was unique and strangely bonding. Like in this small fraction of time they shared a secret. And they were the only two in the whole world who knew it. It made her feel kindred to him somehow, less lonely.

His eyes glided down towards the flame in her hand.

' _Show me_.' He breathed and she felt immediately compelled to do so.

The blue flame reflected in his eyes, making them clearer than ever. Silver shimmered and swam in the grayness and Hermione found herself blushing again. His fingers traveled slowly back and forth through the flame, not stopping, however, as it obviously burnt _him_.

'Well done, Hermione.'

The barely audible words caused small explosions behind her eyes. He had _never_ praised her for anything. He had never even used her _name_ before. The combination of both left her breathless and her young heart squirmed a little bit.

A smirk began playing on lips.

'Just when I begin to think you are useless…'

He trailed off and gave her a small nod of approval, the smug smile never disappearing.

Feeling suddenly nauseous, Hermione tried to find words in her blanked mind.

'S-so, you think it's not burning _him_ either?' she whispered hoarsely.

'Who? Oh! The chess figure, you mean? No, of course _not_ , he is not _alive_!'

The condescending tone was back once again. _So much for admiration_. Stepping back from her, he pulled his school suitcase and began rummaging through it.

'B-but…,' Hermione stared at the back of his head and then back to the flaming figure. 'He is _moving_. You… you are _sure_ he is fine?'

'Yes, yes! Here. Put it in here.'

Tom had finally found what he was looking for and was now holding out to her an open small glass jar.

' _Come on_! Or do you want to set this place on fire by accident? Not that I would stop you if you did.'

He added grinning as she placed the flaming chess piece in the jar.

Closing it tightly, he strode back and climbed the bed again. Placing the jar on the thin blanket covering the mattress, he stretched across it and, propping on elbows, stared with enchanted gaze at the dancing lights from the glass.

Hermione stood by the door feeling lost. He had gone back to his previous self. Completely absorbed by anything _but_ her.

'Are you going to keep it like that?' she asked awkwardly.

He humph-ed non-engagingly and kept looking at the flames.

'Aren't you going to put it off?' she tried again. The burning small human-looking figure really disturbed her.

' _Put it off_?!' he threw her an incredulous look. 'Why would I do that?! It's magic! You don't … _put off_ magic!'

Hermione licked her lips nervously and took uncertain step forward.

'S-so… you will… just keep him burning in the jar?'

Tom measured her for a moment and shifted his weight on one side to face her.

'Well, I can let you see it from time to time if you want.' He offered stiffly. 'But I'm keeping it!'

'What? No!' Hermione shuddered and tried to ignore the blazing glass. 'I _don't_ want it! I just want to put it off because it seems like he is in pain…'

Tom snorted and looked back at the knight.

'It's a wooden piece! How could it be in pain?'

'Well, he… he was _moving_ in the flames.' Hermione said in a hollow voice suddenly feeling ashamed. _What kind of person was she if she could cause pain to a wooden figure?_

'Oh, _Hermione_! I keep telling you, you are so _stupid_!' he laughed mockingly and gave her another measuring gaze. 'It's a magic chess piece. They _all_ move! I took it from Hogwarts. All magic chesses are like that. Here, come to see from closer.'

He pushed the jar a bit closer to her invitingly. She shuffled uncomfortably on one spot for a moment and then approached his bed in caution. The little knight was still engulfed in the unstoppable blue flames, as he rolled around the bottom of the jar. Little clattering noises came out it each time he clashed with the glass wall. Hermione swallowed forcibly down an unpleasant raising taste in her mouth and looked away again. She was not sure Tom was telling her the truth about the knight.

'Will it ever stop moving?' she asked, fearing the answer.

Tom looked down from her face to the knight in front of him and turned his whole body back to it again.

'They come to life only when you look at them. It was inanimate in my pocket before.'

'Will you … hide it somewhere eventually? S-so it stops making this sound?'

'Yeah sure, in the evening,' he hummed non-committal, his attention back entirely to the glass jar.

Hermione looked at him for a while longer, not sure of what to say. She was willing to bet he was going to stare at the burning knight all summer if he could. Eventually, as he never looked back at her again or said anything for a long while, she just turned around and hurried out of his room, away from the sickening noise of the burning knight, thrashing at the walls of the jar. At the door, she suddenly realized something and turned back to Tom for just a moment longer.

'Was that the thing that did not belong here?'

Tom slowly tore his gaze from the fire and fixed it on her for one silent moment. Then he just looked back to it without a single word.

 **TR, 12**

She was something _different_. Even among wizards. He'd seen the oafs he took classes with at Hogwarts and they were all a _disgrace_. _Especially the purebloods_! Those he hated the most. They'd been exposed to magic since birth and yet were equally inadequate as the muggleborn first-years. _It was pathetic_! One more disappointing cluster of idiots, buried to the neck in mediocrity of quidditch games and ...friendships and… _who_ said _what. Useless_! He wanted to wash them all away, clean _his_ world from the freeloaders, from the unworthy and the ungrateful. Magic was… _everything_! And those who _had_ it but took it for _granted_ – those had _no right_ to possess it in the first place! Tom knew _he_ was unique. He knew it before Hogwarts, but after few months there, he knew he was unique _in_ Hogwarts too. He could _do_ things without practice, without even care. As if his body knew how to do magic before it even knew how to talk and walk. The rest of the kids alienated him initially, calling him weirdo and nerd, mocking his muggle past. But it didn't take him long to establish the respect he knew he deserved. They were just like the Wool's bunch of cretins. Fearful, infantile. The Slytherins were somewhat acceptable. But they also bickered over idiotic quidditch competitions or petty little rivalries. They were all missing the _point_. They were in a castle full of history and ancient magic! There were countless secrets to be discovered, _conquered_ … _owned_. Tom kept looking and waiting for someone _like him_. Someone who understands, _sees_ what magic is. The power that comes with it. Someone with thirst for more and _better_. And against all odds he found this person not between the magnificent, spell-filled walls of Hogwarts, but right across his room in the filthy, grey, offensive _muggle_ orphanage. Someone completely unlike him and yet… like him in some _essential_ ways. Hermione was different than anyone he'd met. Her _magic_ was different. Powerful, beautiful. Dangerous. He wanted to explore it. He wanted to grow it. To match to his own. And to crush it when challenged. It both offended and excited him that this little, ordinary _girl_ was a worthy match for him. She was doing things even he couldn't at her age. He'd tell himself that he didn't _know_ he was a wizard few years ago! So of course the brat would do better, then him. She had _him_ as a teacher. She should be kissing his feet in gratefulness. But she was _stupid_. And cared for useless things too. If left alone, she'd never excel above mediocrity. What a waste that would be. He would not let her become one of the cretins. She was powerful and he wanted to possess that power too. So he'd make sure to _fix_ her. Make her _better_.

 **HG, 8**

Hermione exhaled irritably. There was no getting rid of Tom Riddle. He had apparently taken the whole teaching role excessively close to heart and now she barely had a moment to herself.

After she left him staring at the blue flames, Hermione skipped downstairs in a rush to finish her house duties before dinner time. The clouds had finally dispersed so she wanted to soak a bit of sun before the dull grayness settled yet again over their anyway grey routine. Having a rare moment of solitude, Hermione now, unlike in the past when she would go ahead and secretly practice some of magical tricks she'd mastered, felt the need to reconnect with her surroundings and her friends. Well, one _friend_ , that is. Wool's social life had not improved much for her in the past year, even though all Wool's kids went to the same public school (except for Tom). Still Elsie remained by her side, despite Hermione's quiet nature and bookworm-ish tendencies. And while everyone else gradually alienated her, the two girls kept their friendship going. Ever since the summer break however, Hermione barely had any spare time left for her blond friend. At first she was hiding from Tom for several weeks, during which she was scarcely ever around the common areas, and then her days were suddenly utterly possessed by the gloomy presence of Tom and his non-existing teaching skills. At this point Hermione was starving for a little bit of regular fun with no magic and _no_ _Tom_.

To her great disappointment, Hermione spent the remaining of the afternoon looking for Elsie with no apparent success. At certain point Tom had finally re-emerged from his room, looking slightly dazed and absent-minded. He'd stalked briskly to her across the yard and grumble it's time for dinner and that meant – time for practice too.

Hermione held back a sigh, but followed the boy back to the dining room anyway. She may have missed her chance for normalcy this afternoon, but magic kept her excited on a whole different level. Despite how powerless and inept she often felt around Tom, he did push her boundaries and she _had_ improved a lot.

Deep in thoughts of magic _versus_ 8… _no_ , _9_ year-old normal childhood (she was turning 9 in less than two months after all!), Hermione did not notice she'd separated from Tom in the food line and that now he was already stalking off to their usual place in the corner. Glancing randomly around, Hermione suddenly spotted short golden locks down the queue and hopped a little, trying to draw Elsie's attention above the towering kids between them.

'Els! Hey, Els!' she waved her hand.

Elsie flinched and glanced backwards for a brief moment, after which she immediately turned back again and did not look around anymore. Hermione frowned. She was sure Elsie saw her. She tried to peak around the big boy in front of her again.

'Elsie…?'

'Are you trying to break the line, you little _twat_?' a nasty voice snapped at her ear.

Hermione turned around, eyes widening at the offence.

She was staring at one of Mrs Cole's chosen ones – Billy _…_ something, if she was not wrong. He was notoriously feared among the younger kids of Wool's, whom he often pushed or pinched just to make them cry in public. Hermione, however, being continuously exposed to Tom incessant bullying for the last month and half, found herself less impressed and intimidated by the fat mass and beady eyes in front of her.

'Um, _no_. I was just trying to call a friend. I didn't even move from my spot.'

Billy, who apparently disliked her lack of immediate petrification at his presence, grabbed her hand and pulled her backwards none-too-gently.

'Yes, you did! Your ugly bird-nest was all over my face while you were trying to wiggle your way up the line! Stay behind me now as a punishment!' he grumbled bossily and pushed in front of her.

' _Hey_!' Hermione was speechless. She hated injustice more than anything. ' _You_ are cutting the line now! This was my spot! I was just trying to wave to a friend!'

She gave a little push at the broad, squishy back of the boy. He rotated and pushed her away with one press of his full, round torso.

'Don't push me you little _freak_!' he hissed angrily, redness creeping up his squished cheeks.

Hermione lost balance and tripped backwards at the impact, falling on the kid behind her. This earned her yet another push, this time from the kid behind, who grumbled:

'Stay away, weirdo!'

'Yeah, _weirdo_!' Billy picked up the initiative encouraged. 'Just go sit with your _weird boyfriend_ in your corner and stop interfering with the _normal_ kids!'

They both pushed her and, toppling to the floor, she found herself out of the line all together. Indignant and upset Hermione scrambled to her legs and was about to voice the injustice of the situation, when out of nowhere Tom appeared between her and the two bullies.

Hermione froze on the spot and so did the two boys flanking her. The blood drained from their faces and they just stared in horror at Tom. Hermione glanced nervously at him and was struck by how calm he looked. She had expected him to be angry, maddened, throwing curses or hitting things. She was not entirely sure whom his explosion would have been directed to – her or the other two boys, but she definitely did not expect him to calmly stand by, after having a reason enough to come all the way from his corner, and just stare at the scene through narrowed eyes. _Wait_. _His eyes_! She squinted. There was nothing from the earlier shining grey in them. They looked thunderous, almost black. Were they not so narrowed, Hermione could have looked at them better and see that there _wasn't_ any _red_ in them, like it seemed for a brief moment.

With no warning he suddenly snapped his gaze to her and caused her heart to race.

' _Leave_.' Tom said quietly not tearing his eyes from hers.

Hermione blinked.

'Huh?'

She wasn't sure who he was talking to, but before she could ask, there was a commotion behind her and without a single word Billy and the other kid sped out of the room. The tall kid who was initially before Hermione, fidgeted on the spot for a second and after short contemplation stalked after the other two kids as well. Hermione glanced around in shock, finding it exceptionally comical when several more kids from different locations in the line stepped out and quickly followed their example.

Stunned she turned around to face Tom again.

Now that the bullies were gone, he was finally beginning to look angry. Hermione sighed inwardly. _Figures he'd find a reason to be angry at_ _ **me**_ _even in this situation_!

'What is taking you so long!? Just take your food already and sit!' he growled through teeth.

The kids in front of the line all stepped aside like on command and in no time Hermione found herself with a warm plate of stew, sitting across the still sour-looking Tom Riddle.

She wanted to ask him what he did back there to make everyone obey him like that, but sensing how angry he still was she did not dare to speak. So they just sat and sup in silence. As soon as Tom was done with his plate, he pushed it aside and looked at her expectantly. Feeling he was finally willing to talk Hermione put her spoon down too and opened her moth.

'Why the hell did you let them treat you like that!' he spat before she could speak.

Hermione let her mouth hung open.

'What was _I_ supposed to do? They were bigger than me and they were _two_.' She defended lamely.

Up until now, she was actually feeling proud of her reaction to the bullies. She held her ground and even spoke back. She'd never done that before in such a public confrontation.

'What could you _do_?' Tom hissed and gave her a pointed angry look. 'What am I wasting my time for with you, if you don't know _exactly_ what to do with such vile shits!'

'You don't mean to do…,' she lowered her voice and leaned forward. 'You don't mean to do _magic_ , do you?'

'Of course that's what I mean! How can you let them treat you like that, when you can easily show them their place! It was _embarrassing_ to watch you!' he was breathing heavily now. 'You are a disgrace of a witch if you don't use your powers to defend yourself! You are no different than a _muggle_!'

Hermione gaped. _This was what he was angry about_?

'But they can't _know_ I can do magic! And… and that's not the point! It's not fair to use magic on them when they can't defend themselves…'

' _Fair_?' Tom practically snarled, before glancing around and lowering his voice to a hiss again. 'Who cares about fair! You think _they_ do? Because it was _so_ fair for _two_ to push a girl half their size? _You are just stupid_! If you don't defend yourself with whatever you have, you'll become a _nobody_ and a _pushover_. A _worthless_ addition to the already _worthless_ mass of _idiots_. Is that what you want to be?'

Hermione frowned and tried to think of a respond.

'No…'

'Good! Because otherwise I wouldn't want to even breathe the same air as you!'

' _No_! _But_! …But I don't want to be a bully either! I don't want to be like _them_! Or… or _you_! You just scare everyone and use unfair tricks to make them fear you…'

'Respect me!' he immediately interrupted.

' _Fear you_!' she insisted feeling suddenly teary. She hated arguments with Tom. He never listened.

'It's the same! You are just too stupid to get it! Fear makes them respect you! They need to know you are stronger… _better_ than them! They'll never even think of bullying you then!'

'But I don't want to be _feared_ I want to b-b…' Hermione trailed off crestfallen.

'To be _liked._ ' Tom finished for her in disgust. He stood up and looked down at her. 'It's what weaklings want. You cannot be a real witch while wanting to be liked by everyone. _Especially_ by _muggles_. You are _not_ the same as them! Until you pretend you are. Then you become one of them. And then you just don't deserve your powers!'

He left her then and she sat blinking quickly and staring embarrassed at one spot. It was clear people could see he was telling her off, even if no one heard what they were actually saying. She has never been told off publicly! Shame burnt her and made her cheeks flame. Her gaze dropped few tables away, where Elsie sat among Amy and her group of girls. They were all giggling, except for Elsie, but Hermione noticed she did not try to make an eye contact with her. Mortified at the perspective of bursting into tears right in front of everyone, Hermione quickly squeezed herself out of the dining room and ran outside.

She spent the rest of the evening, hiding in the bush spot behind the orphanage, crying and wallowing in self-pity. Later, as she crept through the dark corridor back to her room, she spotted blue light seeping underneath Tom's door. Feeling nauseous and angry, Hermione stormed in her room and slammed the door loudly. A low chuckled rolled from his side of the corridor and reached her ears. Hermione threw herself on the bed and buried her face under the pillow. _When was this summer going to end_!


	5. Chapter 5 - Unwanted company

_**July, 1939**_

 **Wool's orphanage**

 **HG, 8**

Last thing Hermione wanted to see the next morning was Tom's foul face again. And as it was not the first time he'd upset her beyond comprehension, she had already worked out ways of gaining few precious hours per day of peaceful Tom-less existence. These were usually the early dark hours of the morning, during which the breakfast was being prepared, and no kid had any reason to wake up. For once Tom was no exception, and Hermione took full advantage of that.

Soon enough Hermione found herself soaking in the blissful silence of an empty dining room with a cup of warm tea and piece of heavenly-smelling, freshly-made Chelsea bun. Just as she was flipping through the worrisome pages of the local newspaper, a sudden commotion caught her eye and she looked up. Across the room, hidden in the shadows of a window alcove, sat Elsie, huddled above a warm cup of tea, staring blankly through the morning darkness.

Hermione had no idea if she had been sitting there all along, but either way she was sure Elsie must have seen her and chosen not to sit with her. Hermione frowned. Her friend ignored her yesterday as well and she was beginning to think something was going on. After small hesitation, Hermione picked her plate and cup and approached the blond girl. She decided to act normally and give Elsie a chance to open up on her own.

'Hey, Elsie, mind if I join you?' she placed her plate on the table and smiled warmly.

Elsie, who visibly tensed as Hermione approached but had not turned to look at her yet, now slowly looked up and Hermione was stunned by the hostility in her gaze.

'Oh, _now_ you want to sit with me?' she asked coolly, before looking away again.

Hermione stood perplexed. Was Elsie angry with _her_? She hadn't even noticed! Not that she could, with all the time she had to spend with Tom.

'Elsie? What's up? Are you angry at me or something?'

'Me? No, no. Why would I be angry?' the blond girl hummed in her tea. 'It's not like I _care_!'

'Elsie!' Hermione insisted urgently and took the seat across her only friend. 'Come on! Tell me what's wrong!'

She could see Elsie's face growing redder behind the cup rim as she kept staring through the window for a while longer.

'So, you are _friends_ with him now?' she suddenly snapped accusatively.

Hermione blinked and replayed the question in her head for a moment. _Elsie was upset because of Tom?_

' _No_!' she leaned forward towards the sceptical girl in front of her. 'Elsie! I promise you! We are _not_ friends. I… I hate him more than ever! You were right about him…'

'Then why are you _always_ together!' Elsie hissed with a little more anger then Hermione could understand. 'Is he like your _boyfriend_ or something now?'

Hermione gaped. It's what Billy said yesterday too, but she didn't take _him_ seriously. And now Elsie? _Is this what people thought_? _This was ridiculous_! How could she tell Elsie what was going on, without mentioning magic? Hermione shook her head at loss of words. _Her friend really thought that Tom …Tom Riddle!... was her boyfriend_?! Hermione began to laugh bitterly.

Elsie slammed the cup of tea loudly on the table and glared at her.

'And now you are laughing at me?' she snapped and made a move to leave.

Hermione cut off the laughter and hurriedly placed a hand on her friend.

'No, Elsie! Please,' she pleaded apologetically. 'Don't leave! I promise you, he is not my … _boyfriend._ Or even a friend for that matter…'

Elsie's face got redder.

'Oh, yeah? Then why are you always with him? Hm? You never have time for _me_ anymore and all you do is _be_ around him!'

'I…,' Hermione began and trailed off. She had no idea what she was allowed to say and if Tom would be angry about it later. 'I… we are going to be in the same school with him, Elsie. So, he is helping me prepare for it…'

There. This was as honest as she could be.

Elsie frowned, processed her friend's words and then crossed arms, looking angry.

'School?... Hermione Granger, stop lying to me!'

'I'm _not_ lying!' Hermione flushed, feeling a little angry herself too. 'When have I _ever_ lied to you?'

'But this is stupid! You are going to school already with _me_ , not with _him_! He is going to this… I don't know what place it is. Something for talented…' her friend pondered a little and then waved hand. 'Talented people or something. So, don't give me this crap! You are … _seeing_ him! Just admit it!'

Hermione opened and closed her mouth and in the end just shook head speechless. _What was this obsession with dating_? Tom was a horrid bully! Surely everyone knows that? How could Elsie think that anyone would want to date Tom!

'Elsie, _believe_ me! I will never want _him_ to be my boyfriend! He is so terrible! And…' she struggled for some other ways to convince her friend. 'He is older! How would I date someone some much older than me? Why would _he_ want to be with me either?'

Elsie measured her for a long silent moment and doubt began shining through her suspicious gaze.

'I'm telling you, Els,' Hermione pleaded once again, seeing she is finally getting through to her. 'He's just around because of school stuff… I'm going to be transferred and he has to help me prepare… it's really annoying actually! We both hate it…'

Elsie narrowed her eyes seemingly pondering over something.

'It is true... I also don't get why he'd be interested in _you_. I mean, you _are_ just a child and… _I'm_ older than you…and…' she trailed off and flushed a bit more, refocusing on her cup again. Hermione looked at her friend in worried confusion. Elsie cleared her throat. 'I mean… you know, right? He'd want to be with older girls, because they would have similar interests… So, I just couldn't understand why you spend so much time with him instead of me…'

'Elsie, he is a _bully_ , you know that! He is pretty much forcing me to stay with him…'

'Forcing you? Like, he threatens you or something?' Elsie looked suddenly concerned. 'Hermione, if that's the case we should tell someone!'

'No, no!' Hermione almost slapped herself in the forehead. If Tom decides she was going around and telling on him, he'd be livid! He hasn't really done anything to her yet, which initially surprised her, as she was sure that lessons with him would mean him doing nasty magic stuff to her, but she was not stupid. She knew if she pushed him too much, he'd probably curse the whole orphanage, turning them all to frogs and throwing them into the river.

'He is not _really_ forcing me. I just say it because he is annoying to be around. But actually, I want to prepare for the new school, so I don't mind his help!' she tried to patch up the situation lamely.

Luckily Elsie seemed to believe her.

'Well, yeah, ok. I can imagine that. I know what a nut-job you are when it comes to studying… But? What do you mean you are changing schools?' she frowned as if suddenly beginning to process what they were talking about. 'I mean, _why_ would you? You already have school and you are not… talented in whatever he is... are you? Like, what is this school anyway?'

Hermione exhaled lowly in relief. It seemed Elsie was willing to finally believe her. From here she could wiggle her way around the truth and make sure that Elsie did not think that Tom was her… boyfriend. She mentally shivered. _What a horrible, absurd idea_!

The girls spent the next hours drinking tea and catching up with stories. Apparently, Elsie was going through some bullying herself, as Amy had decided to let out the frustration of losing Hermione's "services" to Tom on her best friend. Hermione felt awful as she really had not noticed anything thus far. _One more reason to hate Tom_ , she thought bitterly. Hermione knew that Amy, like everybody else, was terrified of Tom, and so far she considered it a bonus that their "lessons" kept all the other bullies away. But looking now at the dark circles under her friend's eyes, she felt a pang of guilt. She really has not been a good friend to Elsie! It felt like they haven't talked for ages – probably since the summer break began, when _he_ came back and _ruined_ everything. Hermione resolved to be a better friend from now on. Elsie was also upset to hear her best friend is moving to this _other_ , far-away, school, but the perspective of it happening in only two years from now made things better. After all, two years was still plenty of time!

As they chatted care-free, Hermione noticed from the corner of her eye that Tom had entered the dining room and sat to have breakfast in their usual corner. And as Elsie's gaze sharpened the moment he entered, Hermione pretended she hadn't noticed him and kept her eyes on the girl in front. Tom sat in the corner for quite some time, and when Hermione was beginning to feel nervous and itchy to look at him and see if he was going to be in a good mood or bad today, he stood up briskly and finally left. Relieved that he didn't make a scene, Hermione finished breakfast and went on with the house duties, after agreeing to have lunch with Elsie later on.

By lunch time Hermione felt like her normal self again and cheerfully lined up for food looking forward to a _normal_ lunch with a _normal_ companion. Just as she was about to look around and see if Elsie was already sitting somewhere, a sudden gloominess loomed over her shoulder and she immediately knew Tom had finally appeared. She swallowed nervously. He was nowhere to be seen all morning and so this was their first direct encounter since yesterday. As he clearly avoided her all morning, she didn't see the need to tell him that she was planning on having lunch with someone else today. They were _not_ friends after all. And seeing how much he did not enjoy being around her, Hermione began to think that maybe their little arrangement has actually been irreversibly broken after last night.

As they stood in silence, slowly moving down the line, Hermione caught herself several times wanting to peak at the boy behind, but being so close to him always paralyzed her and took away her courage. It didn't help that his whole presence was like a dark shadow over her soul. What was _he_ angry about? _He_ was the one who was nasty to her, not the other way around.

The chance to speak came at the fruit section, where Hermione happened to take the last apple for the day (as apologetically pointed out by the lunch lady). At this point, she glanced uncertainly at the dark-haired boy and, seeing how he glowered at her accusatively, she found herself offering the apple to him. His face went deadpan, though she clearly heard his teeth gritting. Hermione decided that Tom and apples were never a good combination.

'Come on, get going already!' he pushed her a little and to Hermione's surprise motioned her towards their usual corner.

Stunned at his apparent expectation to maintain their usual routine despite the obvious animosity between them, Hermione stumbled forward towards the table stuttering. She glanced nervously around looking for Elsie and found her standing few steps away, her eyes shooting daggers of accusation and betrayal in their direction.

Hermione panicked a little. She looked back at Tom, who had already settled in his place and gave her pointed expectant look.

'Ummm… I was going to…' Hermione began hesitantly and her eyes darted quickly to the still standing Elsie. 'I promised…'

Tom's eyebrows slowly travelled up, which, together with the blank stare he gave her, made the words stick in her throat.

Just as the obviously-upset Elsie was about to turn around and walk away, Hermione made a snap decision, which later she would not be able to explain even to herself.

'Elsie!' she quickly waved, wanting to reassure her friend that she still wants to sit with her. 'Come sit with us…'

Tom stared aghast with murder on his face.

' _What do you think you are doing_?' he hissed quietly, throwing warning glance at Elsie, who had recovered from her initial shock and was now approaching them with flushed face. She froze on the spot at his gaze.

'She is my _friend_ and I promised earlier to sit with her…' Hermione began whispering urgently.

' _What do I care_?'

'Oh, please, _please_ , Tom! I promise I'll do better! I'll do what you tell me and will ask you less questions… _no_ questions! Just, please, for this once… '

Tom cut her off with an annoyed frown and, seemingly unwilling to engage further, just waved a hand.

'Just... _Go_.'

'But…'

Hermione glanced back at Elsie, who was now fidgeting on one spot looking uncertain and slightly embarrassed.

'But now she'll know you don't want her here…'

'I _don't_ want her here!' he snapped. 'Take your muggle and go be a muggle. Or stay. But don't bring _her_ here.'

Hermione winced. She was pretty sure Elsie could sense his dismissal. Public rejection was probably going to hurt her even more. In a rush of self-sacrificing need to prove her friendship, Hermione got closer to Tom and infused her words with urgency.

' _Tom_ … _please_ let her sit with us! She is bullied and they'll leave her alone when they see her with you. … It's like you said – they… _respect_ you, so they wouldn't think of bullying people around you. Oh, _please_! It's not going to cost you anything. And I… I will _owe_ _you_! I will do anything you ask me to, I promise! No matter what! Just one lunch… _please_ …'

Tom was watching her silently, while she pleaded and she couldn't tell if he was about to explode or just shrug and go back to his meal. There was something in his eyes that was both violent and calculative. Hermione caught her breath and opened her eyes wider, trying to encourage him to make the right choice. His eyes traveled all over her face for a split second, immediately making her self-conscious and blushing, and then he just looked away with an indifferent _humph_ and nodded curtly at his plate.

' _Oh, Tom_! _Thank you_!'

She lightly touched his shoulder as a gesture of gratitude and then rushed towards her friend to tell her the good news. She did not see the look he threw after her, which was probably for the best.

 **TR, 12**

 _For fuck's sake!_

… _.._

… _.._

…

 _This was it_. This was what was going to kill him, before he even had the chance of figuring out how to cheat such a demeaning culmination of human life. The chattering, the exclamations, the _giggling_! _Ugh_! It was petrifying! ' _Hey Tom, I'm Elsie'_ was literally all he could remember from this endless torturous lunch. They talked about so many stupid things that he couldn't believe they didn't eventually flatten out into two dimensional structures just to match the level of their conversation. Were all muggles like that? Or girls in particular?... Or was it kids in general? He _hated_ kids! _He_ was never a kid. Never felt like one. Never wanted to be one. Defenceless, useless… . Tom glanced sourly at Hermione. _She should be fucking embarrassed_. How could this brainless sack of… _hair_ and … _sounds_ be the same witch, who exploded the apple into million pieces! Who performed the same magic as that four-eye geezer but _without even a wand_! He himself had not figured out yet how to stop fire from burning him, and _she_ just … _did it_. She caught his gaze now and her smile died a little. _Good_. It made him want to slap her, when she had such a _muggle_ expression. The _other_ one kept squeaking cheerfully about something and Tom's head began to hurt. He was beginning to fear that soon he'd lose control and do something he'd regret for the rest of his life. His whole body was shaking with the need to unleash his displeasure, but at this point he suspected that, if allowed, this could only happen in the form of magic. _He could not let this happen_! He barely managed to contain it yesterday with that _fat lump_ Billyand feeling this way for a second day in a row was taking its toll on him. _It was all_ _ **her**_ _fault_! _Oh_ , _he was going to make her pay for this_! He registered sudden blissful silence and incredulously glanced around. Both of them were staring at him expectantly. Like they've asked him something and were expecting him to _participate_ in their non-sense. _Were they kidding him_? Hermione obviously got the hint ( _finally_!), as she intervened quickly and said something that made them both giggle again. His temples pulsating and hands almost shaking, Tom painfully swallowed the food down and began reciting to himself brewing rules from his potions book. She _did_ owe him big time!

 **HG, 8**

 _Ok, that was pretty awkward_. But at least Elsie seemed happy! Hermione was worried at first that Tom would be his usual rude self, but as the surreal lunch unfolded, Tom had kept his mouth shut and Elsie, who was so excited to sit with them, didn't even notice how annoyed he was. And even though the boy's face showed nothing remotely inviting for conversation, Elsie kept trying to talk to him incessantly. Still by the end of the lunch, Hermione wasn't sure it was smart putting those two on the same table ever again. Had Tom not seem so livid, Hermione would have thought the whole situation was rather funny. But there was nothing funny in the look he gave her the moment they finished eating and Elsie chirped she'll see them later.

Now they were rushing towards the meadow behind the orphanage in stony silence. Or rather Tom was striding forward without looking around and Hermione was stumbling nervously behind him, wondering how to get out of this one in one piece. She knew he would be angry, but she tried to convince herself that her offered debt to him would be compensation enough.

As they pushed through the thorny bushes, Hermione's hair got caught in few brunches and she tangled herself even further while trying to detach. Tom initially just growled at her to get a move on, but, seeing that she only made it worse, eventually went back to her. She whimpered a little as he tore at her hair with brisk and painful movements, but he didn't seem care. Just grabbed her wrist and pulled her roughly to the other side of the bushes. Hermione fought for balance at a forceful expulsion from the shrubs and hesitantly glanced as Tom walked passed her, dropped his bag of books on the ground and stood with his back to her.

They remained in silence for so long that Hermione began shifting from foot to foot and fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt uncomfortably. Tom then pocketed hands at the sound of her movements and looked back at her loathingly. She swallowed dryly and, unnerved from his silent glare, reluctantly attempted to start a conversation.

'So, the lunch was… um, fun?'

' _Never._ ' His voice cracked with tension and she winced as if slapped. ' _Do. That. Again._ '

Hermione bit her lip and stared at him anxiously.

' _Do you understand that?_ _ **Clearly**_?'

She nodded silently and tried to avoid his gaze. She knew this was coming, so she just stood timidly waiting for him let it all out. Somewhere in her there was a voice protesting, but she felt she'd pushed him too far today and she was unwilling to see what will happen if she pushes once more.

He was suddenly at her, grabbing her by the hair and pushing her to face him.

' _Say it_!' he snarled.

'I u-understand,' she whimpered, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes.

He narrowed his eyes and with a brisk move released and turned away from her again. Hermione stood still on her spot, miserably wiping at her eyes. She had no idea why Tom affected her the way he did, but he could make her cry just easily as he could make her blush. She swallowed down the painful lump in her throat and watched blinkingly as he started striding back and forth on the small lawn.

'I thought we had a deal!' he snapped and glared at her truculently as she failed to respond immediately.

'W-we did…'

'And _what_ was the deal?'

'You teach me magic…'

' _I_ teach you _magic_!' he repeated loudly and stopped walking. 'Then what are you doing inviting this… this _muggle_ with us? How are we going to do magic in her presence?'

Hermione sniffed and looked at her feet. This was so _unfair_!

'H-her name is _Elsie_!' she whispered and glanced up reluctantly to meet his darkening expression. She added hurriedly, 'A-and it was just for lunch. Can't I just have lunch with my friend once in a while? We don't have to _always…_ practice...'

Tom narrowed his eyes and her words died.

'Oh, I see,' he began softly. 'Now you don't _need_ practice.'

He paced a slow circle around her.

'Be-eeeecause…? You are suddenly _so_ good at everything I've wasted my time trying to teach you?' He mocked nastily. 'Or because you think I cannot teach you anything anymore, is that it? Do you think… do you think you are _better_ than me now, Hermione?'

'But you are _not_ teaching me!' Hermione suddenly fumed unable to hold back anymore. 'You are just commanding me to do things and call me stupid when I can't! You don't explain me _anything_! I haven't learnt _anything_ from you!'

Tom's lips went pale with anger as he pressed them firmly. He stepped close and towered over her threateningly.

'If you haven't learnt _anything_ , that would be because you'd rather be with your _muggles_ than do magic!' he hissed through his teeth.

'Not true! I'd love to do magic all the time! But I can't…'

'You _won't_!'

'No! I _can't_! We live in a muggle world! The professor said…'

' _The_ _professor_!' his voice raised again. 'Yeah! Listen to that sack of bones and you'll end up as useless as his classes are!'

'No, but… _ah_!'

He had grabbed her jaw tightly and pulled her closer to his snarling face. The greyness in his eyes was just a shade before black now.

'Now you _listen_ to me, you little brat, because I'm not going to say it again.' He said softly, but with contempt. 'You will _never_ bring that brainless muggle to me again! You understand? Never! And you will _never_ spend _any_ time with her again! Aand…'

He placed a finger on her lips as she tried to speak. His other hand held the back of her head and did not allow her to move even one bit.

'Tut-tut. _Do not interrupt me!_ '

His nails dug in her cheeks painfully and he glared at her for a moment. He only stopped when a small sob escaped her.

'And because you _don't_ want to anger me more… do you?'

Hermione shook her head miserably as much as it was possible and kept reminding herself not to cry. _Just a bit more! Just not in front of him, not like that!_

'Good girl.' He leered. 'Then… you will punish your muggle.'

Hermione blinked. _What?_

'Oo-h, yes, yes. You will punish her. Scare her away. Show her what you are!'

 _No, no, no!_ She began struggling against him trying to free herself.

' _Yes_! You _will_! Because… stop!' he pushed her against a nearby tree trunk and the air wheezed out of her lungs. 'Because you _promised_ , remember?'

Hermione lifted horrified face to him and gaped, trying to fill her lungs again.

' _No_! I …'

'Oh, yes, you did! You _owe_ me, you said!' he lifted an eyebrow waiting for her comprehension. The wave of panic bubbling in her seemed to have said enough, as he continued smugly. 'And you are not the kind of person, who wouldn't be true to their word, right?'

'No, I… you…'

'Because that would be _so_ shameful! For you… and your _poor_ parents! What would they think if they'd…'

Iced horror filled her little heart. How _dare_ he…

'UGH! Jesus Christ, you guys! What are you doing in this _place_!' a voice snapped all of a sudden.

Tom and Hermione jerked in surprise and pushed away from each other in an instant. They watched in disbelief as Elsie crawled between the bushes and stumbled clumsily on the meadow. She shook the leaves and brunches from her hair and cloths and huffed seemingly exasperated as she finally looked up at them.

'Hey guys!' she beamed. 'What are you _doing_ here?'

She laughed breathily and looked around.

'I mean… I saw you earlier sneaking through the fence and I figured you went somewhere to… you know? Study for your fancy school thing…'

Tom's head rotated with unnatural stiffness towards Hermione and her heart stopped at the look he gave her. _Oh, this was bad!_

'…but, I mean, come on!' Elsie continued oblivious. 'Such a _weird_ place! Ha-ha! It's… um, yes…'

 _Please go away, please go away_! Hermione prayed silently, as Tom's attention went back to her friend. Elsie, however, clearly had not perceived the mood of the situation, as she went on.

'I thought I'd come by, and maybe help you out or, you know, just hang… _oh_!' she squeaked as she spotted the books Tom had dropped earlier on the ground. 'Are those your _books_? From your _school_? _Wow_! They are so _weird_! Ha-ha! So cool! Can I check?'

And in Hermione's utter horror, she bent over the stack and pulled a thick, old book.

'Wow, this is… _oh_!' she exclaimed as the book was snatched from her hands in one move. Tom had move next to her in an instant.

She gazed up at him in surprise for a moment, followed by fierce blush and unexplainable to Hermione soft giggle.

'Hey there!' she smiled at Tom like he was some cute little puppy.

Hermione pushed off the tree and hurried towards them, panic ringing through her ears.

'I'm sorry, I was just curious!' Elsie was saying now, still smiling obliviously. 'I mean with all this secrecy of Hermione, I still don't why exactly is your school _so_ special. Are you guys like artists or something?'

Hermione sneaked a looked at Tom's face and almost chocked. If it was anyone else, she'd burst out laughing. But Tom seemed … almost _green_ with anger! She noticed his fingers were white from their hold on the book and his whole body was trembling.

And then Elsie blinked and, apparently, she too noticed how shaky the boy in front of her was. And stupefied Hermione watched almost as in slow motion as her friend tried to place her hand on Tom's shoulder.

'Hey, are you alright? You cold? Ha-ha, I mean it is a bit chilly here, I agr… _Ah!_ '

Tom had slapped her hand away before it even touched him. Elsie gasped and stumbled backwards, and Hermione yelled.

'Don't you hurt her!' She grabbed Tom's hand and pulled him away from Elsie.

Tom's attention snapped back to Hermione and his features contorted from shock and disbelief to anger, as he caught her wrists and shook her hard.

'No, I won't, because _you_ will!'

' _No_!' Hermione thrusted herself in his grip.

'H-hey? Wha..?' Elsie stammered behind them, but they ignored her.

'You _will_ , or _I_ will! It's your choice!' Tom hissing with maddened glint in his eyes and started twisting her arms.

Elsie, who seemed to have blocked completely at the initial assault by Tom, now also yelled and began pulling Tom's shirt, away from Hermione.

' _Hey_! What are you doing?! Leave her alone, you are _hurting_ her!'

Hermione abruptly landed on the ground as Tom released her and she watch him whirling on her friend again.

' _Don't touch me, you stupid muggle_!' he pushed her rudely and she also fell on the ground.

Elsie stared up at him blankly and then her face convulsed and reddened. Then the tears rolled and she began crying.

' _Shut up_!' Tom roared stepping towards her threateningly, at which point she started crying even harder. His hand went up in the air and…

 _SLAP!_

Hermione watched in disbelief as her own, now burning, hand landed on Tom's pale cheek.

His face yielded to the side ever so slightly, but his eyes, widened and murderous, never left her terrified gaze. Something like a raging growl escaped him moments before he turned and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her on the tips of her toes.

'D-don't hurt her!' Hermione managed to cry out as the pain seared through her scalp.

'Y-you… _You_ …' his eyes bulged at her.

With hysterical sobs Elsie pushed off the ground and hung on Tom's neck, trying to make him let go of Hermione.

'Let her go! _Let her go_! LET HER G…' she bellowed.

' _SHUT UUUP_!' Tom snarl at her and elbowed blindly around trying to get her off him.

The next thing that happened stunned Hermione so much that she just froze and gaped in horror behind Tom's shoulder. It took him few moments to realize that something was wrong and as Elsie let go of him and sank to the ground, he glanced back at her. Hermione was still caught in his grip, but as he finally saw what she saw, his fingers suddenly loosened and he too gaped at the blond girl on the ground.

Hermione fell on the grass and stared blankly at Elsie. Her blond friend lay unconscious on the ground, hair locks gently framing her wet cheeks. And all she could see was the empty place on Elsie's face. The empty place where her mouth has been seconds ago.

Gone. Just nothing. Two eyes and a nose.

Hermione began panting and shaking.

Two eyes and a nose.

That's it.

'H-her mouth…' she whispered. 'H-her mou… What did you do?! _What did you do_?! What did you _do_ to her?! Put it back! Put it back! Give her mouth back!'

She shot up and began hitting and shaking Tom in panic.

He just stood frozen staring at the girl on the ground. After what seemed an eternity of horror, he finally registered the little girl still pounding and screaming at his chest.

Hermione almost didn't notice the pain as he squeezed her arms to stop her from hitting him.

' _You did this_!' he wheezed in uncharacteristic panic and his eyes seemed to have lost any traces of rationality. ' _YOU_ _DID_ …'

' _NO, I DIDN'T_!' Hermione shrieked and struggled against him. 'NO, I DIDN'T! YOU DID IT! YOU DID THIS TO HER! YOU…'

Suddenly she couldn't speak. Voice gone. She tried to open her… her… _oh, no, no, no_! _Her mouth_! Where was her mouth! _He didn't, he didn't_! The world began spinning around her. The darkness at the corners of her eyes spread quickly and the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness too was the ashen face of Tom above her, as he held her while she sank heavily to the ground.

A loud _CRACK_ exploded seconds before the world disappeared.


	6. Chapter 6 - Underage Magic

_**July, 1939**_

 **Wool's orphanage**

 **HG, 8**

'…and then I heard the screams and came to check what's going on…'

Hermione's eyelids fluttered heavily, as she tried to push them open. There were people around her. Above her. She was… on the ground?

'…and then I saw them fight, they were arguing and screaming so loudly, and she told her to shut up…'

What was she doing on the ground? And what were the people talking about…? _Wait_. _Screaming_...

'… and I couldn't stop them… couldn't! You know that! I'm not allowed! I tried to calm them down!... But, then suddenly _this_ happened… Their mouths just disappeared...'

 _Mouths disappeared?_ Something stirred inside Hermione's head. The frantic voice continued.

'It must have been from the anger! It happens! Dumbledore warned me. To keep an eye on her, guide her through her … incidents. I… I failed!'

The voice seemed to have chocked on a sob.

'There, there! Don't worry, young man!' another voice came soothingly. 'It's not your fault!'

Hermione blinked. She'd remembered suddenly everything.

 _It_ _ **was**_ _his fault!_

'You did good to come and check on them! You couldn't have prevented this from happening. Early age magic is very potent sometimes. And very unpredictable. But don't worry, your friend will be just fine!'

Hermione's heart sped up. She will?

She glanced around and her vision began to clear out. Tom was standing above her, pale as a ghost, alongside two odd-looking men, crouching by her sides. The men, who must have been wizards, smiled at her encouragingly.

'Welcome back, little miss! You gave us the fright for a second there!'

They laughed lightly. Hermione's eyes jumped from them to Tom and back. She tried to speak, but with a numb feeling realized her mouth was still missing.

'Blimey! I've seen many strange incidents, but gotta say – this one is a little… morbid, eh?' one of the men winked at her and smiled wider. 'Don't worry though! You'll be just fine! We'll take you now to St. Mungo's and there they will fix you in no time!'

'Um… You… you are taking her somewhere?' Tom chimed from above.

Hermione's eyes met his. _He was terrified_! _She could see it_! He had lied. He put all the blame on her. And now they were taking her away and he was terrified that she will tell them what really happened. _Which she will_! She tried to infuse that thought in her eyes. His face went even paler if possible, before he bared his teeth in a nasty grimace.

Hermione looked at the men, but they were oblivious.

'There, there! It's going to be alright! Don't worry, no one is going to be angry at you, little girl!' the man to her right misinterpreted the look she gave him. 'We'll get you to Mungo's. The hospital that is.'

He clarified, turning to Tom to answer his question. Tom's face transformed in a blink of an eye and concern perfused every fibre of his being.

'Sir! She needs hospital then? Can I come, sir, please? I don't want to leave her alone!'

The men looked at each other before smiling reassuring at the boy.

'Of course you can come, young man! She will not be alone, as we've notified your assigned guardian, but I'm sure she'd like to have a friendly face…'

'Guardian?' Tom frowned.

'Well, yeah, Professor Dumbledore. He was assigned as responsible to introduce you to our world… you know, considering your situation…'

'He is coming too?' Tom's voice sounded strained.

Hermione's vision began to blur again. She felt exhausted. But they were taking her to the hospital. Professor Dumbledore was going to be there. She was going to be fine!

 **HG, 8**

'Hello there!'

A rounded woman with gentle smile was beaming at Hermione.

'Welcome to St. Mungo's! I've heard you had quite an event!'

Hermione drowsily looked around and found herself in a neat small room. Memories came to her faster this time. She tried to speak and when she failed again, she lifted hand and tried to trace her lips.

There was still nothing there.

'Don't worry, sweetheart! We will fix that!' The woman patted her on the cheek and turned around, rummaging through some flasks, sound of clicking glass gently scattering around the room.

'It will take, however, a little bit of time, mind you! We will have to regrow your mouth again from scratch and the best way to do that is to let it regrow itself.'

Hermione blinked as the woman faced her again, still beaming.

'Here, we'll rub this ointment… it has some Moly extract, you see, it will stimulate regeneration of the cursed parts,' the lady applied some odourless paste below Hermione's nose, 'And we'll let you rest here for the night! You should be good as new tomorrow!'

She beamed again at Hermione.

'Good your friend is here to keep you company, right?'

Hermione's eyes ran through the room quickly and fell on Tom, who was sitting in the corner, face propped on his fist, looking at her thoughtfully. His previous panic seemed to have dispersed. He met her gaze and smiled warmly.

Hermione stared at him perplexed. She didn't know he could look like that. So… _normal_.

It was all a lie, though. She already knew that.

'Yes, Mrs. Warbeck! I will keep her company, of course! After everything she's been through, she needs someone to cheer her up.'

Perfect lie, from a perfect face.

Hermione closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.

 **HG, 8**

'Wakey-wakey, Hermione…'

Fingers ran carefully through her hair, her cheeks, coaxing her out of the warmth of her sleep.

'Come on, you are a good girl, right? Wake up now, we have to talk…'

For a third time that day, her eyelids fluttered heavily and Hermione tried to remember what had happened. As everything came back, she flung her eyes wide open and stared face to face at Tom Riddle. He was bent above her in the hospital bed, propped on an elbow, stroking her curls almost gently.

Hermione instantly shrugged away from him or rather tried to. He laid second hand on her cheek and cupping it carefully, but firmly, fixed her face on him.

'Tsk-tsk-tsk… you need to be resting. We can't have you running around, looking like that, you know?' he said with a small trace of humor. 'I mean, you _do_ look quite dreadful.'

Hermione frowned at him as hard as she could, cursing him in her mind. _Oh, when her mouth finally appeared again…!_

'You will say nothing!' he suddenly snapped, face darkening.

She froze and stared at him.

 _Did he hear her thoughts_?

'It's all over your face,' he answered her second thought. 'Don't think I don't know you are planning on ratting me out the moment that never-stopping mouth of yours reappears.'

Hermione just held his gaze, unwilling to look away first. _Yes, she was_. And she was not planning on denying it, no matter how much he threatened and scared her. _He had crossed the line!_

Tom's face relaxed again and small smile began playing on his lips as he resumed stroking her hair. It unsettled her deeply.

'Of course, I cannot let that happen, you know that, right?'

As she couldn't reply, she just kept staring at him defiantly.

He chuckled.

'Ah, yes! I guess answering questions is not your strong side right now…'

He chuckled at his own joke some more and then his face became stony all of a sudden.

'This is good. Because _I_ will do the talking and _you_ just need to listen.'

She felt something touch her arm and as she looked down, she realized she was somehow immobilized completely.

Instinctively, she tried to struggle against it, but to no avail.

'It's not use. The spell will go, only when I let it.' Tom said as a matter of fact.

He then pushed away from the bed and settled into the nearby chair.

Hermione watched silently with widened eyes, praying someone will enter the room soon.

Tom leaned on his fist and looked at her for a while in silence.

He was playing with a long wooden stick in his fingers, and Hermione realized this must be his magic wand! She wondered how come she hasn't seen it before on him.

'I couldn't use it before.'

Her eyebrows shot up. _He didn't just answer her thought again_!

'It's all over your face!' he repeated. 'You are very simple. And so are your thoughts. Very… muggle. It's a pity really, as it seems like you have quite some magic in you. But… I guess this is the difference between muggle and real wizards after all.'

He trailed off for a while again, playing with the wand in his hands.

'I couldn't use it before, like I said. It was like someone had chopped my hand off! Stupid Hogwarts rules. Why would they forbid us from practicing magic outside of the school, when they wish us to become adequate wizards in this world! And some of us want so much more than just that….'

He gave her a look.

'I thought _you'd_ also want more. You _could_ get more. But you are... yeah. Well. We got that covered already. _Muggle._ I don't expect you to understand how painful it was for me to come back to _that_ place and not be allowed to do magic. And then seeing you doing it freely… seeing that you can do it _anytime_ you wished…'

He bared his teeth momentarily and tightened the grip on his wand. Red sparks shot out of it.

'And then you go and choose to be with that… _idiot_! Who not only has no magic to offer, but is also plain stupid… And because she is your _friend_ you choose to give up _this_!'

He waved his wand briskly, muttering something and fire began dancing on the nearby chair. Hermione's heart was racing. She looked from the fire to Tom and back, screaming in her mind for him to put it off. His pale face reflected the flames perfectly and his eyes suddenly seemed like two bright crystals. Another wave and the fire was gone.

'And then you drag that imbecile to us…' his voice was so low she could barely hear him.

Contempt contorted his otherwise stunning features for few moments, before he shook his head and looked back at her.

His smirk was back.

'Well, at least there was some use of that, don't you agree?'

As she just blinked across him worriedly, he brought his hand forward… _his wand hand!_ … and shook it in her face.

'As you can see I am using magic again!' he announced in delight and giggled completely out of character.

Hermione's head began to pound. _What was he saying_? He couldn't use magic out of school? She frowned trying to recall if she really never saw him do anything this summer. It would explain why he hasn't cursed her yet. It had kept her wondering! But.. but he was doing magic now! And he.. _he!..._ wiped her mouth!

'Aah, you see?' he twirled the wand in his fingers. 'The incident earlier brought the _ministry_ people to us, and even _they_ didn't doubt my story! It didn't even cross their mind that it might have been me who'd done the curse, as _you_ are the unexperienced witch with no ability of self-control whatsoever.'

He grinned at Hermione's protesting frown.

'And that's when I started putting things together. They cannot tell _who_ had done the magic. They can just tell the location! Meaning that as long as we are in the same place and as long as you are still allowed to have your … _incidental_ pre-Hogwarts magic, _I_ can be doing all the magic I want!'

He laughed.

'Of course, here, in the hospital it is even better, as I have a whole building full of wizards and witches! They can never know if I'm doing magic!'

He pointed his wand at her and she flinched.

'Nah! I'm not _stupid_!' he grinned evilly. 'I'm not going to curse you in a _wizard's_ hospital, where they can see the effects of the curse later. Relax. We are just _talking_ for now.'

He pocketed his wand and leaned forward, towards her head again.

'But, you see, now I have another problem.' he pressed his forehead at her temple and whispered in her ear. ' _You_.'

Hermione's blood froze.

' _You_ want to rat me out. You…' Hermione began shaking her head and he placed finger on her cheek keeping her still. ' _Yes_ , you _do_! Don't lie to me. You don't know how to do it… So, what are we going to do about that? Hm?'

He lifted his head and forced her to face him.

'Because, you see, if you rat me out, they will expel me. They will forbid me to finish my education and will even take my wand away... _Now, now_! Before you get any ideas, let me make that perfectly clear to you. If _that_ happens… if that _ever_ happens, I will kill you.'

Hermione stared in his eyes. They were not lying.

'I will. I will have _nothing_ to lose.' He continued serious. 'As I already told you, magic means _everything_ to me. You cannot be seriously thinking of taking _everything_ from me, right? Because, you know, I don't need _this_ wand to kill you. I will run. And I will get other wands. They will _not_ kick me out of _MY_ world! And I will come for you… You _do_ understand that, right?'

His finger traced her cheek bone as he spoke calmly about murdering her and adrenaline fiercely rushed through Hermione, making her shiver from head to toe.

' _Nod_.'

She did.

He smiled again.

'There. I knew you were a good girl. We don't need to be enemies, you know? We can make this all fair. Let's make you a deal. I'll swap your debt for a favour, ok? You don't have to hurt your _muggle_ , but instead you have to keep this whole mouth incident to yourself, yes? This must be easier for you to agree on, seeing how much you demand fairness all the time…'

 _Elsie!_ Hermione's heart squeezed. Where was she? Did they take care of her too? Or was it because she was a muggle, she was not allowed in the wizard hospital? Did they leave her in the bushes, mouthless and unconscious?

Her eyes must have betrayed her anxiety and Tom seemed to interpret it correctly as he sighed with annoyance and stepped away from the bed again.

'Your muggle is _fine._ They will re-grow her mouth and re-modify her memory, so she'll have no recollection of today's events what so ever. _Happy_?'

Hermione swallowed in relief and nodded softly.

'Ok. Now, if you want her to _remain_ fine…. Do we have a deal?'

She stared at him blankly. _He was going to get away with this_! And he was going to blame everything one her! And after everything he did to her and now also to Elsie, and after threating her life – he was still getting everything he wanted! She hated him! Hated ever meeting him! Hated that she couldn't escape him for the next many years to come! Hated that she was so powerless. Tears rolled down her cheeks quietly. He looked down at her for a long moment, before lifting hand and wiping them away.

She forced herself to stop and looked away before she nodded.

He settled back on the chair, waved his wand to release her from the binding spell and watched her with a smirk, as she turned away from him and faced the wall.

 **TR, 12**

Tom Riddle had a terrible night. He kept dreaming of faceless figures, pointing with a finger at him and setting walls of fire all around him. He kept running, and even though they had no faces and, consequently, no mouths – somehow, he knew they were chanting monotonously at him. And in ways dreams get messy and confused from the daily impressions, the chants kept repeating that he was not allowed to return to the hospital ever again. However, deep inside, his subconsciousness knew what the metaphor meant, as he felt depressed and utterly lost and woke up all panting and sweaty.

With shaky hand Tom swiped the damped hair from his forehead and gingerly looked around. He had fallen asleep. The stupid girl kept him awake till late with her not so quiet sobs. And while he would give anything not to have to withstand the hateful noises – he wasn't about to leave her side for even a second before making sure she does exactly what he'd told her to. Finally, she cried herself to sleep and eventually he'd also drifted away.

His gaze involuntarily jumped to the bed. _Was she still sleeping?_

The sweat froze on his forehead.

She was gone. _Gone._ _Where was she_?!

He jumped and stumbled, still affected by the nightmarish sleep. Hitting random things on the way, he rushed towards the exit and franticly looked around. _Where. Was. She?!_

Light voices came from the room at the end of the corridor. He perked ears. _Yes!_ What the hell is she doing there? His stomach sank. _Who_ was she talking to?

He strode towards to distal room, but as he turned the corner, he froze and paled.

'Ah, Mr. Riddle, I hope you got some rest? Excuse our attire, I'm afraid we might have gotten a bit carried away.'

Light giggle rolled around the room and blushed Elsie, accompanied by suddenly stiffened Hermione, turned around and faced him. They were both dressed in the most ridiculous attire he'd ever seen, with strange-looking, old pointy hats, decorated with various useless things, and colourful robes, sewed from different textiles. They were both holding long wooden sticks, suspiciously looking like wizard wands. And Dumbledore, _fucking Dumbledore_ , sat right between them in long black robes with oversized sleeves and similar pointy hat, differing only by the disgusting moth-eaten stuffed vulture, attached to the rim.

Tom stared. From Hermione, to Dumbledore, to Elsie and back. _Did she tell on him_? _Why was he smiling then_?! The crook was always weird like that! Bet, he was happy to expel him! _Wait_. Why was the _muggle_ here? Why were they not hiding from her? Did she know what they are? Did _**she**_ tell on him?! Bile, filled his mouth. He wanted to strangle her. To choke the life of her useless existence, to…

'Why don't you join us?' Dumbledore continued after short pause. 'I'm afraid we are out of robes, but you could borrow this splendid bowtie and magician's hat!'

Tom blankly shifted eyes to the older man. He was offering him something with encouraging smile and Tom instinctively stepped closer and took the objects. It was a black flat-top hat and small red ribbon.

'I was just explaining to Miss Walters here what we are, and it seemed she wouldn't believe me, until I looked more like a wizard. Well, so, as, apparently, I have failed miserably in representing my kind, I asked her to help me out with some… fashion suggestions. And one thing led to another and yes…' Dumbledore spread hands in a sort of ' _here we are now_ ' gesture and smiled warmly as another wave of obnoxious giggle rolled out of Elsie's mouth.

Tom swallowed. _Her mouth was back._ His eyes darted to the bushy-haired girl, standing next to the bed. _So was hers_. She hasn't said anything yet though, hasn't even moved. Just stared straight at him and it was beginning to unnerve him. He cleared his throat.

'Y-you… khm… you are fine?' he crooked at the two girls.

The blonde imbecile giggled again.

' _Tom!_ _You_ are wizard too?' she squeaked and the delight in her face confused him even more. 'Ha-ha! So _that's_ why you are so weird!'

Tom glanced at her briefly and then back to Hermione. _What was she playing at just staring at him like that?!_ If four-eyes didn't know what happened last night, which he _didn't_ apparently, what was she doing staring like that at him? Almost _accusatively_. She was going to raise suspicion! Dumbledore turned and replied something to the muggle, and he used this moment to shoot Hermione a warning sight. Her frown deepened, but she just chewed her lip and looked down. _Good_. He needed to get the ginger goon away from them as soon as possible!

'P-professor Dumbledore!' he said. 'What is going on? Is it safe to share with … _Elsie_ all this information?'

Dumbledore bent his head a little and smiled half-sided. The muggle gasped.

'Well, considering everything Miss Walters had to go through last night, I felt it was only fair to offer her some explanation before sending her home. I am sure she is going to keep our secret very safe.' He winked at the blonde girl playfully.

Elsie giggled delightedly again.

'Of course I will! But _only_ if Tom also puts his magician's things on!'

Tom stared at her appalled and then back at the objects that Dumbledore had given him earlier. _Was she kidding_? He was not some… _magician_ … he was a _**wizard**_! What did she think, they pulled bunnies out of their caps?

'Oh, I'm sure Mr. Riddle wouldn't mind. After all, it's such a small price to pay for your kind understanding!' Dumbledore added, still smiling, and everyone looked expectant at Tom.

He gritted his teeth. _One_. _Day_. _Somehow_. They were going to _pay_ for this. He vowed as he put the hat and the bowtie.

Elsie exploded in a high-pitched laughter and even the little brat had the indecency to smile timidly. Dumbledore looked ecstatic.

'Well then,' he announced and stood up. 'It's settled!'

'Oh, you are leaving?' Elsie's mouth dropped in disappointment.

'Unfortunately, yes. As pleasant as this company is, I have some urgent matters to address and I quite look forward to doing so in the splendid new attire you have chosen for me!' he winked at Elsie again and pulled out a small flask. 'Now, before I go, would you mind drinking this potion? It is a cheering elixir brewed by our very own potion's master to help you relax after the past-lived experiences.'

'Owww! Elixir? As in _magic elixir_?'

Elsie needed no more to drink every last bit of the potion.

In an instant her lids shut and her head fell lifelessly to the side. She was asleep. Dumbledore gently pulled the small flask out of her hands and looked at the other two children.

'Well, then. It was a little bit misfortunate that I had to trick Miss Walters, but I am afraid we cannot let her keep the information from the past day, despite how reliable she may seem!'

 _Was he kidding_?! Tom pulled the hat and bowtie off and threw them on the bed.

'Sir?' Hermione spoke finally in a soft whisper.

'Oh, don't worry Miss Granger. You friend will be just fine. A small memory modification charm and all this will just disappear, and everything will go back to normal. We will provide her with new memories, where she had accidentally hit her head in an unfortunately placed tree branch and you two have taken her immediately to the hospital, like any friends would do in such a situation.'

'Oh.' Was Hermione's simple reply.

'I trust this will be alright with both of you?' Dumbledore smiled, but looked firmly from Hermione to Tom and back.

They both nodded.

'Splendid. Shall we begin then?'

The wizard pulled out a long wand and, after few waves, attached it to Elsie's temple. After some moments he slowly pulled back and small cloudy threads began seeping out, following the tip of the wand. In few more moments Dumbledore pulled sharper and detaching the threads, collected them around his wand and then slowly slid them into a small glass vile. He pocketed it.

'Sir!' Tom exhaled.

Dumbledore smiled at him.

'Are you going to throw that away?' Tom breathed. _Too fast!_ He bit his cheeks from inside. 'Sir?'

'Oh, but why? Memories are precious things, and one must never take the liberty of removing them permanently. I'll just store it away for safe keeping for now, you mustn't worry.'

Tom's eyes grew wider and he franticly looked for something to say. Some way to convince Dumbledore to give him the cloudy vile. He looked at Hermione briefly before shifting back to the now leaving wizard.

'Well then, I really _do_ have to go, I'm afraid. I am getting rather needed at the ministry recently. One would think they have all long graduated from the constant need of their professor, but I guess it can't be helped now.'

He tipped his vultured hat in good bye.

'Tom, Hermione! Please _do_ enjoy the rest of this summer and hopefully it will be a little bit less eventful for the two of you from now on!' his gaze lingered on Hermione before shifting briefly to Tom.

'Thank you, professor!' Hermione whispered, while Tom just nodded, still looking for ways to get his hands on that vile.

As the professor turned around the door, Tom was just about to explode when Hermione suddenly turned and sped right after the professor as well.

Tom was left behind gapping. He looked between the sleeping muggle and the door and after some contemplation hurried after Hermione.

The two collided at the exit of the room.

' _Oomph_ … hey, wha…' Tom began, but stopped.

'Here.' Hermione held the memory vile in her tiny hand, outstretch towards him. 'I took it. I also didn't tell him anything! Neither did Elsie!'

Tom looked stupefied. She took the vile for him?

'How? You made him suspicious now!' he hissed.

'No! I told him it was pretty and magical and I really wanted to have a reminder of Hogwarts and the magical world, so he gave it to me!' Hermione snapped. _She_ _snapped?_ _At him_?!

Small fist poked him in the chest, holding the vile.

'Take it! Take it and leave me alone! You've done enough. And you've got what you wanted! You can do your stupid magic even in the summer! You know that now. You don't need _me_ anymore. Just leave me alone from now and stay away from me! I will not tell on you, so no need to constantly bother me about it. _Just leave me alone_!'

The last words came with a sob and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Tom looked between the vile and her wet face, then he took the memory and she immediately stepped around him and closed the door of Elsie's room, leaving him outside.

He stood taken aback for a moment, staring at the cloudy threads. They were swimming eerily between the walls of the flask, emitting vague translucent light. His fingers slowly tightened around the glass.

 _Just when he thought she was useless…_

He smirked. He may have just found his very first and very _favourite_ servant.


End file.
